Silence of the Hare
by Mind Jack
Summary: After a group of bandits, including one who calls himself her brother, murder her parents in cold blood, a young snow hare named Yin Bei vows revenge. Her shy, timid disposition prevents her from communicating with anyone other than her Master and three reformed criminals turned Kung Fu Masters. Can she defeat these adversaries, and find the secret of her father's past?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I: Innocence Lost

 **I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OC's.**

A scream pierced the cold, snowy night.

Yin Bei was startled awake. The six-year-old Chinese snow hare had pure white fur, a small brown nose, and big white ears that were more than double the length of her body. Of course, given how small she was, that wasn't saying much. Her wide blue-green eyes searched the dark warily as her small paws clutched at her blanket nervously.

Yin Bei, or "Bei" to most people, had always been a very shy and jumpy child. No matter how much her father, a Kung Fu master, tried to bolster her confidence, she never made friends with any children her age. Bei was also a very heavy sleeper, yet the scream had been loud enough to wake her.

Strange noises emanated from outside of Bei's bedroom. They seemed like…voices? Bei froze in fear. Were Mom and Dad fighting? They _never_ fought! Neither Bei nor her mother knew Kung Fu, and Dad had been trying to teach them a little bit recently. Maybe that's what it was.

Yin Bei quietly slid out of bed. She crept over to the door and slid it open a crack. Her small, light-brown nose wiggled as it sniffed the air. She shook her head, startled at the sheer amount of unfamiliar scents she picked up. She put her ear to the door. There were _definitely_ voices out there. They seemed to be keeping their voices low, so she couldn't clearly make out what they were saying. She slid the door open further, slipping out into the hall.

She crept down the hall, trembling a little as she tiptoed out into the main room of her family's home.

Yin Bei peaked out into the hall….

… And was immediately seized by her ears, and lifted into the air.

Bei struggled fruitlessly, her limbs far too short and weak to have any effect on the armored black bear who had scooped her up. "Hey Boss!" the bear called. "I caught a snack! Can I eat it now?"

"Not yet, E Jile." a voice answered. "Let me see it first."

Yin Bei's stomach lurched as E Jile swung her around to face the speaker. Bei gasped when she saw the sheer number of strangers in the room. Bei couldn't count high enough to tell how many there were crowded into the tiny cabin. They were all of different species, but they all had two things in common; they were all armed to the teeth, and they all wore nasty grins. Across the room, Bei saw a big hippo in a butcher's smock with a cleaver in one hand and her father's ears in the other.

Master Swift Hare, although larger than his daughter, was still cursed with being small. Like all snow hare during winter, his fur was pure white. It was now stained red in some spots and ripped clean out in others. His white tunic and pants had suffered the same fate. He winced when he saw her.

Bei was relieved to see that he was okay, but her relief turned to horror when she saw her mother. The female snow hare lay face up on the floor, her blank, glassy eyes staring at nothing. There was no obvious mark on her, but she was obviously dead.

Bei felt her eyes tear up. "M-Momma?" she sobbed weakly.

"Neat, huh?"

Bei turned. The person that E Jile had called Boss was shoving his way through the crowd. For a moment, Bei was confused. The bandit leader looked just like her dad.

But the differences quickly became obvious. While Dad's eyes were a warm shade of brown, this stranger's eyes were cold and dark, like mud. His smile was an endlessly malicious slit across his face. He wore a simple black vest, loose black pants, and a red kerchief around his neck.

He gave her a big grin like this was the ding-dang happiest day in the history of the world. "Enjoying my handiwork? I think I did a pretty good job."

Bei started to cry loudly, but E Jile slapped her hard across the face, leaving her cheek stinging. "Be quiet snack!" he snarled.

Yin Bei sniffled, and held back her sobs. She saw her father start to struggle, only to receive a loud strike to the side of the head from the flat of the hippo's cleaver. "Don't you dare touch her Yang Chao!" the bound master yelled.

The Boss, Yang Chao, rolled his eyes dismissively. He walked up to stand beneath Yin Bei and looked up at her. "Well! Aren't you a cute one! What was your name again? Yon Bit?"

Bei gulped. "Y-Yin B-Bei!" she stuttered.

Yang Chao's grin grew so wide that Bei suspected that he could easily swallow her whole if E Jile decided not to. "Yin Bei, Yang Chao." He chuckled amusedly. "I see what you did there pops. Anywho, I'm your big brother."

Yin Bei's jaw dropped. Mustering her courage, she glared at him. "You're lying!" she accused. "Isn't he, Daddy?"

Her father refused to meet her eyes. "He's telling the truth."

Yang Chao batted her like a cat playing with a ball of yarn, causing her to swing back and forth. "Lesson one, little bit; don't get defiant with me. I'll be truthful; you are going to die tonight. How painful your death is depends on my mood at the time. Understand?

Bei's eyes started to water again, but she nodded, terrified. She needed to get out of here. Bei was a fast runner, and most of these bandits had a lot of weapons and armor on them. If she got out of E Jile's grip, maybe she could dodge around them and get out the front door. Once she got into the woods, she knew her way to Master Rooster's Dojo, where Daddy trained. She could bring back help.

But first, she needed to get free.

Yang Chao was pacing back and forth. "Now, I want Pops over there to suffer, and I can ensure that he does by making her suffer. Would the more intelligent ones among us please step forward? I could use some ideas."

Five bandits stepped forward; the hippo holding Yin Bei's father, a slippery looking weasel in an outfit similar to Yang Chao's, holding a razor sharp sword, a squat, ugly bat in a big hat holding two strange devices that Bei did not recognize, an energetic female squirrel in a purple hooded cape with a strange, curvy dagger, who Bei thought was kind of cute, and, to Yin Bei's surprise, E Jile.

The hippo was the first to speak. "The little one would make a fine soup." He suggested. Bei went bug eyed.

"I like your sadism, Tufu." Yang Chao complimented. "Sadly, we don't have time for that. Anybody else?"

"I could eat it whole." E Jile put forward. "I saw it first, after all."

Yang Chao nodded thoughtfully. "Simple, not time consuming, and an awful way to die… I like it. Any other ideas?"

"Ooh! Pick me!" the small red squirrel begged, bouncing up and down.

Yang Chao smirked, and gestured for her to speak.

The squirrel stopped bouncing. "Let me sacrifice her! She'll be stuck as a ghostly slave for all eternity!"

Yang Chao blinked. "Um… wow, that is really cool. Any objections?"

The weasel scoffed. "What superstitious nonsense!" he said in a strange accent that Bei didn't recognize. "Personally, I like E Jile's idea. This is one of the rare occasions when he has actually had a good one."

"Do not dismiss the power of the supernatural so easily." Tufu warned. "I say we go with the Priestess's plan."

The weasel waved a paw dismissively. "You can be a fool if you wish. I say we go with E Jile's plan."

Tufu growled dangerously. "You _dare_ call me a fool!? I am the greatest gourmet in the world!"

The weasel grinned, showing sharp teeth. "I wonder if your ingredients would agree. Somehow, I doubt it."

The hippo raised his cleaver, ready to strike the weasel down, and the weasel leveled his sword to thrust into the hippo's ample belly.

*BANG*

Everyone turned. The bat held one of the strange thingamabobs in one of his winghands, and one end was smoking. "Ya'll need to shut up," he warned, in an accent even weirder than that of the weasel. "'fore I decide to see if two bullets cure two headaches."

The two combatants lowered their weapons, but still glared daggers at each other. Yang Chao stepped between them, looking at the bat. "It looks like both ideas are tied. I like both of them, so you, my friend, may cast the deciding vote."

The bat lowered his weapon. He glanced at Bei for a moment, his expression unreadable. "Hmm… I never held with all that 'supernatural' bullshit. Think I'll go with the big guy on this one."

Bei noticed that, while all of the bandits were focused on the bat, her father had begun to swing himself back and forth. Now he flipped up, wrapping his ears around Tufu's arm, throwing the massive hippo like he weighed nothing. He crashed into E Jile, causing the shocked bear to drop his hostage.

Yin Bei landed roughly, but recovered quickly and dashed off on all fours. She dodged left as the bat aimed his weapon at them, then jumped over the squirrel, who'd tried to dive at her. Nearly all of the other bandits were desperately trying to subdue the furious Kung Fu master. Yin Bei was so terrified that she barely looked back as she dashed out the door, a band of bandits in hot pursuit.

Bei was extremely cold. Wearing only her nightclothes, all she had to protect her from the brutal snowstorm was her fluffy white fur, which was slightly thicker during the winter months. . She knew that Master Rooster's compound wasn't very far away. She had often raced her father back and forth for fun, and it had only taken a few minutes to get there going the long way along the path. Taking the route through the woods should be even quicker, shouldn't it?

What Bei didn't know was that her father took her on the path because while the way through the woods was shorter, it was also up a steep hill, and the gaps between trees were shrouded in thorn bushes. They tore at her clothes as the sound of pounding footsteps thundered behind her.

Yin Bei swerved and leaped between the trees. Tears streaked from her eyes as the thorns ripped into her skin. Her many cuts felt like they were on fire, slowly burning away her skin. But she couldn't slow down.

Yin Bei became sure that she would never lose the bandits, but eventually she heard the sounds of her pursuers fade off in another direction. She breathed a sigh of relief.

When she emerged in front of the gates to the dojo, Bei's clothes and fur were completely shredded, and she was freezing and exhausted.

"What on Earth-?" Exclaimed a familiar voice. "Yin Bei! Are you okay?"

Master Blazing Rooster rushed forward to catch Bei as she collapsed. The Master's orange feathers, yellow beak, and red crest really did make him look like a brand of fire, starkly contrasted by his royal blue robes that were lined with white. "What happened to you?" he asked in concern.

Yin Bei looked up at him weakly. "B-bandits…" she murmured. "At our house... Momma…" At this point, she closed her eyes and started sobbing weakly. Rooster carried her into the dojo courtyard, where three more Masters were sparring. They immediately stopped when they saw Rooster run in with the wounded hare.

Master Bing, a large black rat in a forest green vest and brown pants stopped mid-strike, while Bao Zhi, a giant, red faced baboon with shaggy silver fur in a pair of black shorts, stumbled and squashed Master Gishi, a bright orange python covered in black tattoos. "Master?" said Bing. "What is wrong with Yin Bei?"

"Bandits have attacked Swift Hare's cabin!" Rooster explained. "Gishi, Bao Zhi, come with me. Bing, stay here and treat Yin Bei."

He gave them more orders, but at that moment, Yin Bei lost consciousness.

Hours later, Yin Bei's eyes creaked open. Rooster, Bing, and Gishi stood over her. "Where am I…?" she rasped.

"On a mat, in your father's old room in the barracks." Rooster replied, concise and to the point as usual.

"What do you remember?" Bing asked gently.

Bei thought back. "Yang Chao came with bandits… they caught Daddy and ki-"she choked up. "-killed Momma. Daddy and I got loose, I escaped and… that's it."

They looked at each other bleakly. "I told you it was Yang Chao." Rooster said to Bing.

Bing nodded sadly. "I hoped you were wrong."

Yin Bei sat up and looked around. "Where's Daddy? Is he okay?"

Bing's face fell. Before he could speak, Rooster delivered the news in the bluntest manner possible; "Yang Chao killed him." He said with no expression whatsoever.

Bei's heart shattered into a million pieces. "No… no…!" she sobbed loudly, blinding herself with tears.

Gishi patted her shoulder with his tail. "Hey, now. Everything'll be okay."

No! Nothing would be okay! Why!? Why on Earth did this happen? Bei could not speak. All she could do was cry. She was like this for nearly an hour. Finally, her voice gave out, and her tears ran dry. Her sadness burnt out. She felt…dead. The only sensation she felt was the stinging of the cuts all over her body as the fowl-smelling healing poultice soaked into them.

Yin Bei looked up at Rooster, and said only one word; "Why?"

Rooster sighed. He sat down next to Yin Bei. "I truly do not know." He admitted. "Long ago, when Swift Hare first arrived at my dojo, he had Yang Chao at his side. He was about your age then. Neither of them ever spoke about their life before they came here, and I did not ask. Swift Hare trained diligently, developing a style of Kung Fu called Ten Limb. Yang Chao kept to himself, reading scrolls all day. When he was about twelve, he simply disappeared along with several scrolls. One of those was supposedly a map to a forbidden technique that could kill with a simple touch. We believe it is that technique that he used to kill your parents. He and his ilk were gone when we arrived."

Yin Bei's eyes closed for a moment. When they opened again, they still held fear, but there was a new anger there. "I want to help catch them."

Bing furrowed his brow. "Bei, you're only six. You can't possibly think we can let you go after them?"

"Perhaps not now." Rooster corrected. " I will put all of my resources to finding the members of Yang Chao's gang, but it will take time, during that time, if she wants, I can train her."

Yin Bei looked up and nodded. She did not smile, but there was a new sense of purpose in her eyes. "Yes."

Rooster nodded in return. "Very well. Rest for tonight. In the morning, your training begins."

Bing and Rooster left the room. Yin Bei snuggled down into the blankets. They were clean, but even though years had passed since her father had slept on this bed, she could still detect his stale scent on the sleeping mat. She sniffled, but she had no tears left. Her face contorted into an expression of fury as a scream ripped out of her. She slugged the mat as hard as she could, pummeling it and wishing that it was Yang Chao's face.

The sudden explosion of activity burned away any energy Yin Bei had left. She collapsed onto the bed, and blackness consumed her once again.

 **End of Chapter 1**

 _ **Hey everyone! Welcome to the brand new, remastered version of SotH! I'll be going through all of the chapters, editing them, and removing the evidence of how much my writing used to suck. I hope you like it better than before. If you're a new reader, disregard the previous statement. You don't want to see the original version of this story. XD**_

 _ **To differentiate from edited and unedited, look at the chapter number. Edited chapters will have a Roman numeral.**_

 _ **Until we meet again,**_

 _ **Mind Jack, OUT!**_

 _ **Edited 12/12/16**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: The Haze

 **I do not own Kung Fu Panda. Only my OC's.**

" ** _Begin_**!" Rooster crowed.

His pupils shot out into what had been dubbed "The Hall of Pain." It was a long hallway that looked completely innocent to the untrained eye, but was in fact booby-trapped to the last floorboard.

Yin Bei rolled to the left to avoid a battering ram that swung from the ceiling, then immediately threw herself to the floor to avoid twin jets of flame that shot from the walls. It had been six years since Bei had made her oath of vengeance against Yang Chao. Yin Bei was still small, but she had grown a lot. She now stood at around two feet tall, with her ears stretching up another three. Her outfit consisted of a pure white sleeveless shirt and pants of the same color. Despite her small stature, she was lean, fit, and strong from constant training.

She leapt over a patch of small spikes that emerged from the floor, rolling in mid-air to dodge darts that shot from the walls. Gishi tried to wrap around her legs to trip her up, and received three lightning fast punches in the face as consequence. Bao Zhi tried to grab her, but Bei dropped onto her hands and slammed her feet into his stomach. Bing leapfrogged over the winded baboon's head, tucking and rolling beneath a log hung from ropes. The obstacle struck Bao Zhi in the knees, sending him sprawling. Adding insult to injury, Yin Bei and Gishi ran right over him, not even slowing down. To finish last meant facing a fate worse than death. Rooster switched the traps out every time they used the Hall so that none of them knew what to expect next.

Dodging and weaving through clubs that swung from the walls and ceiling, Bing was the first one to reach the finish platform. He touched a claw to the side of his snout. "Not it." He said smugly. Bao Zhi grabbed Gishi by the tail and dragged him back. Completely ignoring the clubs smacking him in the face, the 6-feet-ten inch primate dashed to claim the second finish platform. He touched a finger to his nose. "Not it!"

Gishi was still frozen with shock as a white blur lay claim to the final spot. Bei touched a finger to her small brown nose, smirking at Gishi. "Not it." She said in her usual soft, quiet tone.

Rooster crowed again, signaling the end of the contest. "Very well done to you three! Gishi, you know the consequences of failure."

The orange snake dropped to his belly at Rooster's feet. "Please no! Anything but THAT!"

Rooster looked down on him without mercy. "Begging doesn't make a difference. Someone has to clean the latrines."

"Noooo!" Gishi moaned.

Bao Zhi patted his head. "A complaining snake gathers no shit, Gishi. Better get to work."

Bing nodded sagely. "I'll try and remember to save you something at dinner, but no guarantees."

"Bring a shovel." Bei joked.

Gishi gave them a death glare.

Rooster produced a scroll from the sleeve of his robe. He opened it and read it. "Let's see…First place cooks. That's you, Bing. Second does laundry. Bao Zhi, if you make my robes smell like wine again, you will be cleaning the latrines for the next five years with nothing but your toothbrush."

Bao Zhi blanched. He knew Rooster _never_ exaggerated.

Rooster checked the last item on the list. "That leaves shopping for Bei. "

Bei's brow furrowed. "That can't be right."

"Of course it is." Rooster replied. "It says it right here." He turned it around so she could read it.

Bei snatched the paper from his wings. "But…" Bei was at a loss for words. She hadn't left the compound in six years. Normally, she would either finish last, and be forced to clean the latrines, or would get laundry duty. "I can't do this." She said numbly.

Rooster tilted his head quizzically. "Of course you can. I'll give you the money, and you go pick up food from one of the shops in town. The shopkeeper will already know you are coming, so just mention my name and-"

"That's not what I mean." Bei interrupted. "I meant that I don't want to."

Rooster cocked his head in the other direction. "Why not? You haven't left the compound since you arrived. Don't you want to get out for a while?"

Bing cleared his throat. "With all due respect, Master, I don't think that's such a good idea. Remember when she first came here? She didn't say a word to any of us for an entire month, and she hasn't spoken to anyone _but_ us since."

Rooster put a wing to his beak thoughtfully. "Hmm… Perhaps you're right. Gishi!"

The orange python perked up.

"Go clean the latrines. Bing, you can go with Yin Bei."

Gishi's face fell, his hopes of freedom shattered.

The largest part of the village of Zhongwen was its constantly bustling marketplace. Villagers of all ages and species wandered about as merchants hawked food, clothes, fireworks, farm tools, and other goods.

Yin Bei's heart thudded in her chest so hard that it threatened to crack her ribs. She was shivering uncontrollably, and she couldn't seem to make her feet move. Her ears hung low behind her head, and her eyes were wide with anxiety. Memories of that terrible night all those years ago flashed through her mind, memories of being surrounded by the bandits. Now, once again, she was surrounded by strangers on all sides.

Bing stopped walking and turned back, concerned. "Bei, are you alright?" Yin Bei didn't respond. She didn't even hear him. It felt like she'd been hit by one of Bing's nerve strikes, only a thousand times worse. She was completely and utterly paralyzed.

A sensation on her shoulder broke through the haze. Bing gripped her lightly. "Bei! Snap out of it! What's wrong?"

"…" Bei couldn't form a sentence, but a few of her synapses fired in the right order that she managed to look at Bing and utter a single word; "Nightmare…"

Bing gritted his teeth. He _knew_ this was a bad idea. He took Bei's paw. "Come on. Just close your eyes and follow me."

Bei nodded stiffly. Closing her eyes tightly, she held onto Bing's paw like a lifeline as he led her through the crowd. Eventually, they stopped.

"Open your eyes." Bing commanded.

Yin Bei obeyed. They were now in an empty alley. "I have to go get our supplies." Bing explained. "If you stay here, no one will bother you. I'll be right back. Okay?"

Yin Bei took a deep breath. While she was still anxious and afraid, she could at least think clearly, now that she was away from the strangers. She gave Bing a small nod.

Bing patted her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled weakly in return as he left.

Yin Bei sat on a barrel for what seemed like hours. In reality, it was only a few minutes until an unfamiliar voice called out "Hey! You!"

Bei froze up again. Three girls around her age swaggered towards her; a tall lynx, a russet fox, and a gray wolf, all wearing ratty street clothes. The lynx had spotty, dirty brown fur. They all looked very underweight and malnourished, as if they had been living on the streets for some time.

Yin Bei felt the same paralyzing fear as before, but it wasn't nearly as bad as back in the Market, so she managed to stammer out a weak "H-h-hello…"

The lynx girl, who seemed to be the leader of the group, got up in Bei's face. "I've never seen _you_ around here before. You got a name?"

Yin Bei was about to try and respond, but the lynx forestalled her. "It doesn't matter. What _does_ matter, is that this is our territory, and you, little bunny,-"

Bei's ear twitched in irritation. She was a _hare._ Not a bunny.

"-are trespassing." The lynx continued. "And we don't appreciate trespassers, especially a runty, prissy, little rich bunny like you."

Yin Bei's ear twitched again. "I am not a bunny…" She muttered under her breath.

The lynx heard her and grinned viciously "What was that? This runty little bunny wants to disrespect us in our own turf? Girls, let's show her how we handle disrespect."

The fox and wolf grinned at her. Yin Bei knew that grin. It had been plastered over the faces of all twenty of the bandits. This time, what Yin Bei felt wasn't fear; it was all-consuming fury.

The fox and wolf moved to grab her, but Bei was too quick. She slipped out of their grasp, and swept the fox's legs out from under her with a kick to her knee. The lynx slashed at her with a makeshift shiv, but Bei caught her arm with one ear, lashing out with the other to strike her hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Ten Limb style used all methods of striking available to a hare; fists, feet, elbows, knees, and, most importantly, ears.

The wolf made another clumsy grab. Yin Bei saw it coming, and easily ducked beneath her arm, slipping behind her. Wrapping her bizarrely strong ears around the wolf's waist, she did a complete backbend, slamming the bewildered lupine onto the back of her head with a resounding *thud!*

That took care of the wolf, but the lynx and fox were recovering, and they looked _mad._

They tried to rush her. This time Bei dodged to the left, landing a hard kick into the side of the fox's knee. The kneecap shattered with a crack, and the fox bellowed in agony, collapsing into a blubbering heap.

The lynx stared at her fallen friends in shock. Scrambling back, she picked up her shiv. Her face twisted into rage. "You're gonna pay for that _bunny!"_

At that final word, something in Yin Bei snapped.

Grabbing the lynx's weapon hand with one ear, Bei brutally twisted it, causing the sound of bone breaking to echo down the alleyway. The lynx screeched, but Yin Bei wasn't done yet. She drove her knee into the lynx's chest with the force to crack ribs. The lynx fell to her back, and Yin Bei followed. She began to rain elbows into the lynx's face. With each strike there was a sickening _thud,_ and Yin Bei shouted **_"I! AM! NOT! A! BUNNY!"_**

When Bei finished, the lynx could only groan pitifully. Her face was a bloody pulp, and her wrist was twisted at an impossible angle.

Yin Bei looked at her paws, which were covered in blood. ' _Should I feel bad for this?'_ she wondered to herself.

"Bei!" Bing called. "I'm ba- oh my gods! What happened?"

The rat dropped the large cloth sack of food he'd been carrying and rushed to the bloodied hare's side.

"It's not my blood." Yin Bei assured him. "They attacked me. I attacked back."

Bing took in the three decimated figures. "I recognize these three. They hassle the merchants from time to time. Don't feel bad. They had it coming. Maybe this will help them learn some manners."

Yin Bei nodded. She'd figured as much.

Bing took a deep breath. "We need to get back home."

Bei's ears drooped. That meant going back through the crowd.

Bing took her hand again. Bei steeled herself. "Just pretend that they're not here." Bing advised. "You don't need to talk to any of them, so just block them out."

Bei took his advice, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. It seemed to work. The paralyzing Haze weakened drastically. Until…

"Well! Aren't you a cute little thing?"

Bei flinched. A slightly-graying older lady, who seemed to be some kind of large black cat, had stepped into their path smiling at Yin Bei. "What's your name, little one?" the lady asked.

The Haze returned, bigtime. Bei's lower lip trembled, along with the rest of her body. Nightmare images flashed through her mind of the old lady murdering her in a dozen different ways.

Bing came to her rescue. "Her name's Yin Bei. Sorry, but she really doesn't like strangers."

The old lady frowned sympathetically. "Oh, the poor dear. I have some daughters her age. I'll move along then."

"Have a nice day!" Bing called as she left.

Bing tugged Bei's arm to get her moving. The lapin moved like a zombie, scarcely aware of him. She barely noticed it when he simply picked her up over the opposite shoulder as the sack, and carried her home.

End of chapter 2

 ** _Edited 12/12/16_**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OC's.**

 **Chapter III: The Hunt Begins**

Yin Bei panted as she lay in her hiding place. Hurried footsteps and the clanking of armor and weapons came from nearby.

"She went in here!"

Bei winced. They were close. _Really_ close.

She took a deep breath. _'I hope this is worth it.'_ She thought to herself.

It had all started that morning. Five years had passed since that day in Zhongwen. Yin Bei was now seventeen years old. She had grown another foot and a few inches, and was now three feet eight inches tall. Her ears had grown another few inches, but were just short enough that she could let them hang without dragging them on the ground. They were nimble and strong enough that Yin Bei often used them in place of her hands when performing tasks such as cooking. Her style made excessive use of her legs, so they were quite strong and muscular, all the way to her hips. These developments had briefly gained her the attention of the boys in Zhongwen, drawing them to a pretty girl like moths to fire. She had made it VERY clear that she wasn't interested.

At that moment, Bei sat in a small clearing, just south of Rooster's Compound. It was mid-Summer, and she had shed her thick white pelt for a very pale brown summer coat. She still wore a completely white outfit with no shoes, but she had traded in the sleeveless shirt for a loose, long-sleeved vest that was more comfortable in a fight. Ever since she had started to…develop, she had also taken to wearing a white linen rap over her chest area to cover herself.

At first glance, an onlooker would think that she was meditating. She sat on her knees with her eyes closed. Then the onlooker would notice two gravestones that she seemed to be whispering to, while crying softly. Her clothes were stained with mud from the recent rain, and tear tracks stretched down her eyes.

"Hi Momma. Hi Daddy," She whispered. "I know it's been a little while since I've been here to talk to you. I've been really busy lately. There's been a lot of problems with bandits and criminals. We think…" Bei choked up for a moment. "We think that some of them may be connected to Yang Chao. I think we're getting close. Bing's been talking to some of his friends from his old syndicate. Bao Zhi says he's been listening for rumors in the Red Lotus Inn, but I'm not sure if I believe him. I think he's just drinking himself stupid at the bar, like usual." She scowled, and wiped her eyes. "I've been working really hard in training. Rooster says I'm almost as good as you were!" She bit back a sob. "I really miss you guys. Last month I got really sick. Bing and Rooster nursed me back to health." She chuckled through her tears. "Of course, Rooster never missed an opportunity to tell me it was possible I wouldn't make it. Gishi was always there to cheer me up though. Like you were, Daddy. Bing always makes sure I do my chores, and don't get into trouble. It's like having one responsible uncle, one who can't take anything seriously, and one who's a drunken slob. Rooster's like our blunt, pessimist, Kung Fu Master Grandpa."

She laughed, wiping her nose. She swallowed, shoulders sagging, and smile fading. Her tears began falling more heavily. "W-wherever you g-guys are…I-I hope you're happy, and that you're proud of me." Her face screwed up, and she broke down weeping. "I-I l-love y-you g-guys!" she sobbed. "I-I m-miss y-you s-so m-much!"

She collapsed onto her stomach, pressing her nose into the ground.

Gishi watched from the edge of the clearing. He knew that Bei did this roughly twice a year, sometimes more. He also knew from experience that trying to approach her while she was like this would result in a TLAB; a Ten-Limbed Ass Beating. So, for the moment, he just sat back and watched.

Eventually, Bei's tears dried up, as they always did. She pushed herself to her feet, wiped her eyes and nose on her arm fur, and dusted off her clothes. She took a deep breath and, without turning around, said "Thanks for waiting, Gishi. I'm better now."

"You knew I was here?" the python asked incredulously. He'd snuck up as quietly as he could! How in the Hell did she know he was here?!

Bei shrugged. "I heard you slithering around about an hour ago, but I was too busy to care."

Gishi faked being miffed. "No fair! You've got those big ears that can hear anything from here to the Valley of Peace!"

Bei started to smile, but one of her ears twitched. "Someone's coming."

Gishi gave a scandalized gasp. "Yin Bei! What Bing does in his room is a private matter!"

Yin Bei shook her head. "Not that kind of coming. I meant someone is moving towards us."

Sure enough, Gishi soon heard hurried footsteps, and Bing burst from the trees. It was obvious that something was amiss; the large black rat was breathless, when normally he could run the whole perimeter of the forest without breaking a sweat. But it was his face that told them that something truly bizarre had occurred; normally, he wore a constant, disapproving scowl. Now, he bared his fangs in a grin that would scare the fiercest Kung Fu Master. Without giving them a chance to ask who had died, he loudly proclaimed "We found one! We finally found one!"

Back at the Compound, they met Rooster and Bao Zhi in a war room left over from the place's years as a military fortress. Bei froze when she saw two figures who were covered head to toe in black silk, to the point that it was impossible to discern their species. One stood a head taller than Bao Zhi, while the other matched Bing's four feet. Yin Bei had seen these two before. They were Black Hoods; master criminals of an order that Bing used to lead. She knew that Bing had been in contact with some of the Black Hoods who were still loyal to him. He claimed that they would never harm anyone under his protection. The Haze did not seem to respond as strongly to them as it did with other people, despite their terrifying appearance. They looked like they were wrapped entirely in burial shrouds. She tried hard to imagine Bing wearing one of the disturbing uniforms, but failed.

"We got word just an hour ago." Bing explained excitedly. "One of the Hoods my friends here know, a real up-and-comer, apparently, heard tell about the contract I put out for information on Yang Chao's followers. He recognized my name, and figured that fulfilling a contract from a former Grandmaster of the Hoods could really help his career. The kid managed to track a ring of highwaymen who'd been kidnapping travelers back to their base. Having a few suspicions based on the details Bei gave us, he went undercover and joined them. He watched them for a while, and found that the kidnapped victims are shipped off to an island in Lu Lake. When he asked around about why they were being shipped, one of the kidnappers let slip about the client's name." He paused for dramatic effect. "And it was none other than our boy E Jile."

Yin Bei's heart leapt into her throat. _'It finally happened. We finally found one of them.'_ She was torn between elation at finally getting the chance to get her revenge on one of her parents' murderers, and utter terror and apprehension at confronting a person who tried to eat her alive. She shook her head. Fear or no fear, justice had to be done. She remembered what Bing had said about travelers being kidnapped. _'I have to stop him. I won't let him hurt those poor people.'_

"Does this contact of yours have a plan?" Rooster queried.

The large Black Hood nodded, but did not speak. The smaller one did not respond.

"He's supposed to tell us when we get there." Bing explained. Gishi cast a skeptical glance at the Black Hoods. "Are you sure we can trust them? You were pretty big back in the day… metaphorically, at least. Taking you out could boost their reps too."

Bing shook his head. "The Black Hoods have a strict code of non-betrayal, which includes all current and former members, as well as clients. The term _'honor among thieves'_ was coined by one of our founding members… of course, no one knew his name."

Bao Zhi rolled his shoulders. "I'm itching for a good brawl. I didn't get to smash any faces last time."

"Because you passed out before the mission…" Gishi muttered.

"What did you say!?" Bao Zhi snarled, taking a menacing step towards the python.

"I said," Gishi replied, taking a deep breath. "YOU ARE A DRUNKEN SLOB!"

Bao Zhi was about to deck him, when Bing piped up "Gishi is right. You are a drunken slob."

Bao Zhi whirled around. "You too!?"

"Shut up."

They all turned to where Yin Bei glared at them. The small hare had her hands curled into fists, and she was trembling uncontrollably. "I can't handle your bickering right now." She whispered, her voice shaky with barely controlled emotion. "Now is not the time for it. The longer we sit here, the less likely it is for us to catch E Jile."

"Yin Bei is correct." Rooster interceded. "Time seems to be very short. We have no idea how long E Jile will be on that island. Also, I would like to remind you two that Bao Zhi's fighting style _requires_ that he be somewhat inebriated."

"Yeah!" Bao Zhi agreed. "Drunken Fist is a proud tradition!"

"Getting drunk and fighting may be a tradition,"said Rooster, with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "–but I am fairly sure it is not one to be proud of."

Bao Zhi threw up his hands. He just couldn't win with these people.

They reached the meeting point on the shores of Lu Lake in the late afternoon. The landscape was bleak, with the poison-green water lapping at a dry, rocky shore. The sky was clear, but the air was humid, as if a storm was brewing. Awful smells wafted from the lake itself, their cause unknown. Near a small windowless shack a short ways out of sight from the shore, a third Black Hood paced impatiently. He glanced up when Yin Bei and her four companions, plus the two other Black Hoods, emerged from the trees. The third Hood was the smallest of the three. He was a full foot shorter than Yin Bei, even though he walked like he was ten feet taller. "Took you long enough." He remarked. His voice was higher than Bei expected. "Nice to meet you, Mr. B, whichever one you are. I assume Miss Bashful behind the rat is the client? Doesn't seem like the type to hire a Hood."

"You assume correctly." Bing replied smoothly. "But I would be careful how you talk to her. I've seen her beat up the local bachelors just for making a move on her."

Yin Bei's cheeks warmed. They were never going to let her forget that particular incident. She might have said something in her own defense, but the Haze was starting to affect her as the number of strangers nearby increased. Bing noticed this. "We'd better get inside and talk turkey."

Rooster narrowed his eyes. "'Talk turkey'? Bing, what have I told you about using bizarre metaphors? Just say what you mean and be done with it. There are no Turks here to talk, and I doubt you speak their language."

Bing rolled his eyes. Typical Rooster.

The third Black Hood produced a key and unlocked the door to the shack. Inside, a small lantern cast a dim glow from where it sat on a low table, along with what seemed to be maps and schematics. The two other Hoods remained outside, unable to fit into the cramped space with everyone else.

"Alright, here's the situation;" The Hood began. "The kidnapping ring is based in a big wharf northeast of here. They're pretty well-armed, and there are a ton of them. You _might_ be able to take them all down, but not before they could sound the alarm and send the boat with all the captives to Blue Moon Isle, where this E Jile guy supposedly is. Now, from what I understand, they have to shove off by midnight tomorrow night, and the more captives they bring, the more they get paid, so every extra person they net is just more yuan in their pockets."

"Couldn't we use a boat of our own?" Gishi asked. "Surely some local ship captains would help us out if we offered to pay them."

Bing shook his head. "No. Locals think that this place is the home of a sea monster. No ships will sail here. It's a bunch of bullshit, and I guess these bandits figured that out and used it to their advantage. Our only choice is their ship. I assume you're planning on disguising us as merchants and getting us captured?"

"You're half right." The Hood admitted. Bei could hear a smile in his voice. "You see, the bandits in the wharf are led by a guy named Dong."

Gishi stifled a laugh. "His name is Dong?"

Instead of answering, The Hood produced a wanted poster. The picture was of a giant, scary-looking gorilla wearing leather armor. "' _Dong the Merciless'."_ Gishi read. "' _Wanted dead or alive for the crimes of kidnapping, theft, and murder.'_ Huh." Gishi's mirth had faded. He gulped nervously.

The Hood placed the poster back on the table. "Dong has been doing things like this for years. None of the captives are ever seen again. He's smart and vicious. However, he is known to have a massive temper and a tendency towards sadism. Only one time has a Kung Fu Master managed to find and attack one of his operations with a posse from one of the villages. The Master and the Mob were overwhelmed, but Dong didn't kill them. Instead, he tied them up and sent them with the other captives to an unknown location. Just like always, they were never seen again."

The room was quiet. Ironically, it was Bei who spoke up. "You want us to attack them, then get captured?" she murmured. "Won't they send the boat away the second we get there?"

She couldn't see his face through his hood, but Yin Bei got the feeling he was grinning. "That's why you're going to take advantage of Dong's famous temper. The first part of the mission will be stealth. You need to get the attention of Dong himself, and there's only one way to do that; sneak in, and let the captives free. The bandits are well armed, so the vast majority of them will be recaptured, but it'll piss off Dong that they even got out in the first place. He'll order his men to search the area. You guys need to make sure they notice you. Make a run for it, hide, but do not, I repeat, do _not_ fight. The second he thinks you guys are a serious threat, Dong'll send the ship off, just to be safe. It'd be a good idea to take out some of the bandits from behind on your way to loose the captives. Dong will think you were scared to take them head-on."

Bing looked impressed. "How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Weeks of meticulous research and planning." The Hood replied. "Does anyone have any objections?"

Rooster bowed his head. "I am not one for stealth and subterfuge. I can tell you believe it will work, but…"

"Master."

Rooster turned to Bei. The shy hare had her big blue-green eyes trained on him. "This may be our only chance to catch one of them." She said softly. "I mean no disrespect, but if you will not go, then I'll go myself, with or without your permission."

Rooster gawked. "Yin Bei… I do not know how to reply to that."

"She's right." Bing confirmed. "The second they leave the wharf, our chance to get E Jile is pretty much gone for good. I, for one, am going with her."

Gishi slithered to Bei's side. "Same here!"

Bao Zhi put a hand on her shoulder. "Me too."

Bei looked between the three of them, a message of _'Thank you all'_ clear in her eyes and smile.

Rooster couldn't help but smile. "It would appear that I am outvoted. Very well. You may all go. However, I myself will stay behind. I do not do well when it comes to lying and acting. I am too truthful for my own good, and I suspect that they will recognize a well-known Master such as myself. I believe your chances are fair, but I'll mourn you if you die."

"Well!" The Hood said with a clap. "On that cheery note, I believe my obligations are fulfilled. Shall we discuss payment?"

Rooster nodded. "You four may go. I will negotiate with our acquaintance here. Good luck to you all."

They'd gone in under cover of darkness. The place was packed with bandits, but they were all so bored that most of them were already asleep. Those that weren't soon were.

Bei jumped onto the shoulders of a passing crocodile, catching his head between her legs. She swung herself around his neck and threw him into a wall, causing a loud noise.

A nearby boar sputtered awake "Hey! Who's there?"

"Shit!" Bei swore. The others were in charge of setting the captives free. It was her job to get the bandits' attention.

"Hey! Come quick!" the boar called. "Some little girl broke in here!"

"We've got problems of our own!" someone called back. Bei could hear frantic shouts from the area near the docks. Splashing and running footsteps followed as the captives were released.

Yin Bei took off running, the bandits in hot pursuit. She scrambled up a ladder to the top of a small building, dashing across the roof. Bei didn't know why, but bandits or other obvious threats didn't trigger the Haze. The presiding theory was that she feared unknown dangers, so if the threat was something she could measure, such as a bandit, it would not trigger the Haze.

The bandits clambered up after her. Bei leapt from rooftop to rooftop, leading her pursuers in a big circle. Up ahead, she spotted several of them trying to catch her from the front. Thinking quickly, Bei rolled to one side and off the roof at the last possible second. Landing on her feet, she dashed off into a gap between two buildings, and slid into a crawlspace.

"She's in here! I found her!" A wolf called.

Bei yelped as she was dragged out by one of her large feet. The wolf picked her up by her ears, and she fought the urge to deck him for it. "Caught ya you little runt!" the wolf bragged. "We've already got your friends, so no one's coming to help you."

The Haze kicked into high gear. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to activate the Haze, it was conversation. Bei had no clue as to why.

The wolf saw the terror in her eyes and smiled. "You're coming with us, kid! We're taking you to see the Boss!"

Once the bandits' attention was off of her as she was dragged roughly off, the Haze faded, and Yin Bei hid a small smile.

 **End of Chapter 3**

 ** _Edited 12/12/16_**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OC's. Huge thanks to Berserker88 for helping out with the details of this chapter and the next.**

 **Chapter 4: Encounters**

Dong seethed in rage at the four idiots who had set his captives free. Over half his stock had escaped, and that meant that a troop of soldiers from the nearby villages could be here any second. That meant he had to settle for shipping the meager numbers that his boys had managed to recapture. The client would not be happy, and if the client wasn't happy, Dong lost money, and that was unacceptable. He needed to make an example of these wannabe heroes.

"Do you have _any_ idea how many yuan those escapees were worth!?" The massive gorilla snarled into the face of the weakest looking one, a rabbit of some sort with absurdly long ears. The girl flinched at his words. "I ought to behead the lot of you and leave your heads on stakes as a surprise for the soldiers!" Dong roared. The girl looked terrified. Her eyes teared up. The big silver baboon tried to lunge at Dong, but was held back by six bandits.

Dong grinned. "Oh, don't worry. I won't do that. You lost me a lot of money. So…I feel that you owe me. Boys!" The Bandits snapped to attention. Dong jerked a thumb at the boat. "Throw 'em in the hold with the rest of the captives. I'm sure E Jile'll love 'em."

Their hands and feet were bound in chains, and the bandits forced them at sword point into the hold below the ship's deck. The python was locked in a tight cage that he could barely fit in. The rabbit girl paused at the threshold, refusing to move even when jabbed with a spear. Dong picked her up by the ears and tossed her into the crowd of chained captives.

The sound that came out of the rabbit girl's mouth should not have come out of any mortal being. She sounded like a fresh soul being tortured in the darkest corner of Hell. Several of the captives, and even a few bandits, covered their ears in pain.

Her three friends rushed to her side, and the unnatural shriek quieted. The girl's eyes were wide and glassy, like she was seeing her worst nightmare made flesh. Her whole body went limp in the rat's arms.

Dong snorted. "Weaklings…" He muttered to himself. He turned away contemptuously, slamming the thick iron door behind him.

* * *

Bao Zhi glared after Dong. "I'm going to kill him before we leave this island." He turned to where Bing was tending to the fallen hare. "Is she okay?"

Bing shook his head. "I don't know."

A grizzled old badger in tattered rags approached curiously. "What's wrong with her?" He queried.

"She's got a massive phobia of people she doesn't know." Gishi explained. "Particularly in crowds, and even worse if the crowd is in a small space like this."

The old badger glanced around the room. "There's only about fifty of us left in here. Be glad you didn't get thrown in here yesterday. I only wish your little rescue attempt had actually succeeded."

Gishi couldn't hide a small chuckle from within the cage. "Actually, it's not quite over yet. We still have a plan."

"A plan that we need Yin Bei for. Without her, we can't get out of these chains."

The badger tilted his head. "Well, I don't know if it'll work, but let me see what I can do."

He turned and snapped at the assembled onlookers. "Nothing to see here! Get back to wallowing in your misery!"

Some of them gave offended murmurs or made rude gestures, but they all backed off. "There you go."

Bing nodded. "Thank you. What was your name again?"

"Li Sheng." The badger told him. "Used to be a soldier in the Imperial Army back in my youth. Don't know what they'd want with an old guy like me. I'm not good for much, other than the occasional barroom brawl."

Bao Zhi laughed. "Same here, friend." He held a hand up for a high five, which Li Sheng ignored with a glare.

"Can we count on you or any of the others in a fight?" Bing inquired.

Li Sheng inclined his head. "Most of these people were merchants or travelers, kidnapped off of the road. But there are several mercenaries and a couple of other soldiers. In total, about eleven of us can fight. We'd been planning to try and break out and take over the ship once they set sail and can't get help from the mainland. There can't be too many of those bastards on board."

Bing shook his head. "We need to get to Blue Moon Isle. There's a dangerous bandit leader there who we have to either arrest or kill."

This brought a surprised look to Li Sheng's face. "Blue Moon Isle? The only things out there are an old lighthouse and some docks and boathouses. Why would they bring us there?"

"We don't know." Bing admitted. "We had intel on how to get to the island for a surprise attack. Once we get there, we're running blind."

Li Sheng scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I'll ask around and see if anybody knows anything about the island. I'll come back if I learn anything."

As the stranger left, Yin Bei began to stir. "What happened?" She murmured weakly.

"They threw you into the hold, and the Haze made you freak out." Gishi explained. "An old dude scared everyone away from you. How are you feeling?"

Bei moaned. "Terrible." Her head pounded. The sudden surge in the Haze had overwhelmed her senses, sending nightmare hallucinations searing into her brain. She spat up a bit of blood from where she'd bitten her tongue. She hadn't felt this awful since she'd sampled some of the unknown liquor in Bao Zhi's flask when she was ten. Just like then, she felt like she'd drunk acid while someone was viciously beating her with a club.

"Can you go on with the plan?" Bao Zhi asked worriedly.

In answer, Yin Bei shot out one ear and shattered the chains on Bao Zhi's wrists, then the ones on her own and Bing's, then the lock on Gishi's cage. The snake slithered out and stretched. "Oh that is _so_ much better. Thanks Bei."

"It'll be a while before we reach Blue Moon Isle." Bing told her. "Go ahead and take a nap. We'll make sure nobody bothers you."

Yin Bei looked unsure. "What about my… y'know… sleep issue?"

Gishi chuckled. "I think these guys can sacrifice their eardrums for the person who's about to save them. Don't worry. If anyone says anything, I'll break their legs."

Bei gave him a smile. She stretched out, resting her head on Bing's hip and closing her eyes. Within minutes she was sound asleep.

Then she started making a noise even more terrifying than her screech earlier.

Several of the other captives looked over in shock. "Do you have a feral tiger over there!?" Li Sheng exclaimed.

Gishi slapped his face with his tail, stifling giggles. Bei was too small and far too cute for the ferocious snore that erupted from her whenever she fell asleep.

Bing socked Gishi in the head. "Stop laughing, idiot! She can't help it!"

Gishi gave him an injured look, coiling up. "Jerk…" He muttered.

* * *

Bei woke a few hours later when Bing jostled her shoulder. "We're almost there." He told her.

She sat up and stretched, yawning hugely. She looked around, and immediately froze up. A circle of captives sat around them at a respectable distance. There were five wolves, two rhinos, three female tigers, and an old badger.

"Is she going to scream again?" One of the wolves asked worriedly. The tigresses all shot him a glare, silencing him.

"They're going to help us take over the ship." Bing explained. "No worries. Just stay quiet. They have a plan for once we get on the island. They'll do all the talking."

Bei gulped and nodded.

One of the rhinos snorted. " _That_ thing is going to take down a bandit lord? She's knee-high to Master Mantis!"

"Don't judge Yin Bei by her size." Bao Zhi assured. "She's handled guys bigger than you."

Bing nodded. "Yin Bei is the one who will handle E Jile. Li Sheng, do you know which building he's most likely to be in?"

The badger scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose that the lighthouse would be one option, but from what I've heard it's not the sturdiest thing. I'd say one of the boathouses would be the most likely candidate. I've heard rumors of smugglers using them on occasion. From what I hear they're supposed to be in semi-decent condition. If you want to know which, I guess you could shake down one of his lackeys to find out."

"Then he'd probably house whatever operation he has going on in one of them too." Said Gishi. "I'll go and see if I can shut it down."

"I'll handle Dong." Bao Zhi announced. No one argued with him.

Bing shifted a little. "I'll snoop around and see if I can find anything about our …other targets. There might be some clue as to their whereabouts."

"There'll be too many guys on the island for us to handle." Li Sheng reminded. "We need to take over the ship now, while we have the chance."

"How do we get through the door?" one of the tigresses asked. "It is solid metal."

"Easily done!" proclaimed Bao Zhi. From his hip, he produced a large steel flask. He unscrewed the lid and took a long swig. Wiping his mouth on his arm, he approached the door. "Stand back!"

They all watched as Bao Zhi gripped the door and, without even a grunt of effort, ripped it clean off its hinges.

"By the gods!" One of the tigresses exclaimed in awe.

With a roar of bloodlust, Bao Zhi charged onto the main deck, body slamming the two unfortunate wolves outside into oblivion. A half-second later, the stupefied soldiers loosed a raucous battle cry and followed. One of the rhinos scooped up a sword from one of the wolves, and Li Sheng picked up a halberd from one of the others.

Yin Bei jump kicked a boar overboard, snatching his metal staff from his hand as he fell. Bei gave the staff a spin. She generally preferred using her bare hands in a fight because it was more fun, but she figured that E Jile would show no mercy, and neither should she.

Bao Zhi grappled with Dong. "Go! We'll handle the ship! Swim for the island!"

Without hesitation, Bei, Bing, and Gishi leapt overboard, into the murky green waters of Lu Lake.

* * *

Upon emerging from the disgusting liquid, they all split up. Gishi dove into the undergrowth, slithering stealthily up into a tree.

Two wolves approached down the path. Gishi waited until they were directly beneath him, then struck.

He landed directly on top of one bandit's head, instantly coiling around his head and flipping him into his companion. Pinning them together, he coiled around their necks in a brutal double chokehold. He choked one unconscious, leaving the other awake. "Where are the captives being held?" He asked in a threatening whisper.

"F-fuck you man!" the wolf choked out. "I aint telling you shit!"

"Ya know, I had a pretty long trip, and I am _starving_!" Gishi mused. "And you, my friend, look mighty tasty right now."

The wolf now looked truly terrified. "Alright! Alright!" He choked. Gishi loosened his coils a bit so that the wolf could speak. "They're in the south boathouse, not far from here. Just keep following this path."

"How many of you are here?" Gishi demanded.

The wolf looked unsure. Gishi started to squeeze a little tighter, unhinging his jaw. "I-I don't know!" The bandit pleaded. "I never learned to count! I swear!"

Gishi took pity on him. He choked him out.

* * *

Yin Bei took a less subtle approach.

As soon as she found a crowd of around six bandits lazing around a campfire, she dove right in.

She held the staff in her ears, spinning it so fast it looked like a silver tornado. The tiger who had his back to her was struck hard in the back of the head, sending him off to dreamland. The rest soon wished they could follow him.

A lanky monkey jumped at her with an axe, but was smacked out of the air and sent sailing into the undergrowth. An ox swung at her with a mace, but she dodged behind him, swinging the staff hard between his legs. He went down with a pained groan.

A crocodile snapped his jaws so close that he actually caught part of Bei's tail. Bei spin-kicked him on the snout, then took him down with a hard backhand blow to the side of the head. She swept the legs out from under a rat, then slammed the butt of the staff into his chest, cracking his sternum.

The last bandit was a simple goose, who was now shaking like a leaf. Bei felt none of the Haze, as her adrenaline was running high. "Where is E Jile?" She snarled at him.

"N-north boathouse!." The goose whimpered. A large wet stain was spreading over the lower part of his tunic.

Bei smiled. "Thanks." She smacked him with a grand-slam swing that sent him flying out of view.

Bei continued through the undergrowth, whacking bushes and bandits alike as she went. The bandits seemed to lack any real training, and didn't pose any real threat to her. She figured that E Jile just didn't discriminate who he hired.

Up ahead, the boathouse loomed. Constructed from tall, thick logs, the structure was large enough to hold several ships. It stretched high into the air.

And somewhere in there, E Jile awaited.

Bei slipped in through a gap where the logs had rotted away. Her heart and breathing sped up in anticipation. At long last she'd get the opportunity to exact her revenge.

Inside the boathouse was, obviously, a boat. It was a large sailing ship that had clearly been there a long time. Its planks were rotten with age and several were missing. It was a wonder it stayed afloat.

Bei's eyes were drawn to the person standing on the deck. The giant black bear was dressed entirely in black iron armor, with an elaborate helmet that was adorned with what seemed to be ox horns. A clay medallion with a strange symbol on it swung from his neck. In his right hand, he wielded a giant war hammer like it was a toy.

Yin Bei wasn't sure what she expected E Jile to do when she confronted him, but it sure wasn't what he did. He looked directly at her, smiled, and said; "Hello, snack. I've been waiting for you."

* * *

Bing was a ghostly shadow. Unlike the others, he didn't bother attacking any of the bandits. His objective was to gather information. To do this, he needed to get a good look at his surroundings and determine where important information might lie, and the lighthouse was the perfect vantage point.

The structure, as the Hood had described, was highly unstable. But Bing was used to ascending things like that. Abandoned towers and ruins had been his home for many a year before he'd come to Master Rooster's compound. Bing crept up the side of the lighthouse, digging his claws lightly into the wood. It was almost comically easy to reach the top, where the beacon was.

However, he absolutely did not expect to see a smiling hare in a black vest with a red kerchief around his neck.

Yang Chao gave a sarcastic salute. "What's up, Bings? It's been a while."

* * *

 **End of chapter 4**

 **Sorry this took so long to get up. I was having some trouble with the details. Huge thanks to Berserker88 for helping me out with that.**

 **My other problem was with motivation. I don't really like just writing one story at a time, and if I try I get bored really easy. Luckily, I came up with a solution; simply write another one alongside SotH. I'll be working on both this story and one called Pokémon: Horizons. That way I have some options. I'll probably be updating about the same frequency, since I spend a lot of my free time writing.**

 **Anyway, next chapter we see Yin Bei vs. E Jile, Bao Zhi vs. Dong, Gishi finding out what E Jile's been up to, and how this surprise encounter with Yang Chao goes for Bing.**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OC's.**

 **Chapter 5: Clash of the Primates/The Death Touch/The Lost Master**

 **Whenever multiple important events are taking place in different places as part of the same chapter, I'll have multiple chapter titles. Don't ask why. I just feel like it.**

 **Note: This chapter has been rated M for violent death. You have been warned.**

As he approached the south boathouse, Gishi noticed that these bandits did not appear to be interested in being subtle. There had to be at least six heavily armored elephants stalking around, each wielding what looked like dozens of throwing axes. All of them carried brightly glowing lanterns, which would make taking them out via stealth difficult.

Gishi hissed in frustration. This was _REALLY_ bad. _'I wonder if E Jile's in there. If he is, and I somehow manage to get in there, I could just save Bei the trouble.'_ The python slithered slowly through the tall grass, careful not to make a sound. _'Alright. I've done this before. It's no different from breaking into Lord Qing's treasury.'_

Of course, his common sense had to pitch in too; _'That was years ago. You're going to get yourself killed. Just cut and run until you have backup.'_

During his younger years, Gishi had been quite the rogue. Breaching a place like this would have been a cakewalk back then. For Bing, it probably still would be. _'How would Bing get past these guys?'_ Gishi pondered to himself. An idea came to mind. _'Could work… Then again, might not. Eh. You only live once.'_

* * *

Yin Bei didn't give E Jile the chance to say anything else. She thrust her staff at his face in a blow that smashed his muzzle flat.

Or at least it would have, if E Jile hadn't deflected it with a flick of his hammer. "Silly thing thinks it can hurt me." E Jile said with an amused smile. "That's hilarious. Now it's my turn."

E Jile moved faster than should have been possible for a fighter of his size. He swept Bei's legs out with a sweep of one of his tree trunk legs. Blinding pain erupted from all of Bei's bones as E Jile struck her with an underhand swing that sent her flying towards the ceiling. Bei managed to right herself in midair and bounce off of one of the rafters. She landed on her feet, rolling to soften the impact. She came up swinging, thrusting and twirling the staff in a complicated series of blows intended to disconcert and confuse E Jile.

It didn't work. Half of her attacks met the handle of E Jile's hammer, and the other half clanged off of the plates of his seemingly impenetrable black armor. The bear actually seemed to be getting bored. "It isn't fighting very hard. I haven't fought something this ineffectual since I took over the troop from the old bandit lord. At least it was big enough to offer a decent meal…and I got a nice helmet out of it."

 _'There was a bandit lord before him?'_ Bei wondered. She wasn't surprised that E Jile had killed someone to get where he was. He seemed to be a very skilled fighter. It was almost like he was using Kung Fu. She recalled that the Black Hood had said a Kung Fu Master had been taken to this island and had never come back.

The two concepts clicked in her mind, and a single thought passed through Yin Bei's head before E Jile's hammer did; _'I am_ so _screwed'_

* * *

Bing lunged at Yang Chao without a single moment's hesitation. The nerve attack should have left the hare paralyzed on the ground. Unfortunately, Yang Chao dodged swiftly. "Missed me!" He taunted. Bing jabbed again, with the same result. "Oh, so close!" Another miss. "Whew! I felt some breeze in that one! You've gotten rusty, Bings."

Bing growled in fury. "Big talk, for someone who ambushed and murdered his own parents."

For a moment, Yang Chao appeared to be genuinely hurt. But the small spot of emotion was smothered once again by his cocky demeanor. "Yikes, Bings! I'm sensing a lot of hostility here." He dodged another nerve attack, flipping nimbly to land balanced on the rusted railing. It didn't even squeak. "Bings, I didn't come here to fight."

Bing jabbed again. "Too bad." Bing growled. "Because _I_ did."

Yang Chao rolled his eyes. His smile grew even wider. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that."

Yang Chao shot out one paw. It wasn't a punch or chop, but a simple touch.

But that was all it took to drain every last drop of vitality out of Bing's body.

Bing collapsed in a heap to the floor. He was so exhausted that he could barely even think. It felt like he had aged several decades in a fraction of an instant.

Yang Chao giggled maniacally. "Oh man I wish you could see the look on your face right now! All that effort, all those years of searching for me so my sweet lil' sis could have my head on a wall, all for nothing!" He lost himself in giggles for a moment. He wiped a tear from his eye. "You wouldn't believe how easy it was to get you guys here. That spy you sent thought that a bunch of thugs and criminals wouldn't notice a chipmunk running around pretending to be one of them. So when one of them came complaining to E Jile, he came to me."

Bing grunted, but was too weak to respond.

Yang Chao blinked. "Whoops! Looks like I accidentally took your voice away too. Sorry. The Death Touch isn't an exact science. No worries. I'm not planning on killing you…yet. I need you to deliver something to Sweet Lil' Sis for me."

As Yang Chao's hands touched his throat, Bing found that he could suddenly speak again. He still couldn't move, though. "Fuck… you…" He croaked at Yang Chao.

Yang Chao's face darkened. His hands were suddenly on the sides of Bing's face. His voice vanished once again, and sparks danced around the edges of his darkening vision. "Watch your mouth Bings." Yang Chao warned. "I said I don't plan on killing you _yet_. I can very easily change my mind, and just leave my gift for Beibei on your corpse. I wonder how she'll react to you disappearing. It won't be anything near the breakdown she has when she finds your mutilated corpse in her bed when she gets home."

Bing groaned. He was beginning to pass out.

Yang Chao reached into his shirt and produced a strange object that Bing couldn't see clearly. It looked like some kind of necklace. "A few minutes after I leave, you'll start to get your strength back." He placed the object in Bing's hand. "This is for Beibei. Give it to her when she gets back from killing E Jile."

Yang Chao turned to leave, but turned back. "Oh, I almost forgot. If you want to find some of the others, tell Rooster to ask the God of Death. He'll know what it means."

With that, Yang Chao turned and jumped over the rail.

As soon as he left, vitality began to slowly sneak back into Bing's body. His mind began to clear. _'He didn't even break a sweat.'_ The rat lamented. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, his bones creaking like those of an elder. It was like Yang Chao had sapped the very life right out of him. _'How on Earth can we possibly beat him?'_

He shook his head, banishing the thought. There was time for that later. He glanced down at the item Yang Chao had pressed into his palm.

It was a spherical clay medallion on an onyx chain. On the sphere of clay was an image of a vulture in flight.

Bing's blood ran cold. He knew that symbol. _'By the gods…'_ He stared in utter shock at what he was seeing. Just looking at that pattern brought back memories of awful surgical and magical experiments. Memories of terrible, terrible agony.

Again, Bing shook his head. There was time to worry about all of this later. For now, he needed to focus on the mission. He went over all aspects of the plan in his head, considering which of his compatriots was most likely to mess up and need his help. It was a tie between Gishi and Bao Zhi, and Bao Zhi was currently quite difficult to get to. Hence, he decided to go after Gishi.

Bing did a couple of stretches. He winced at the stiffness in his bones. He was nowhere near one hundred percent, but he'd been in graver situations with more serious injuries. He set off to find the orange python.

* * *

Back on the ship, a small war was occurring.

Li Sheng stabbed his halberd into a monkey's plate mail, the tigresses were viciously mauling an elephant, and the wolves were pouncing on various bandits and ripping them to shreds with their teeth. None of these were quite as brutal as the two primates beating the living piss out of each other.

Bao Zhi smashed an uppercut into Dong's chin. Dong hit Bao Zhi in the jaw with a right haymaker. Neither one bothered defending. They were running on pure rage. Bao Zhi kicked Dong in the chest. Dong head-butted Bao Zhi. Bao Zhi slugged Dong in the ribs. Dong kicked Bao Zhi in a place that raised his voice a few octaves. Bao Zhi slumped forward.

Dong hit Bao Zhi with two quick jabs, then swept his legs out from under him, sending him sprawling. Bao Zhi came up and slammed his flask into Dong's face. The heavy steel flask nearly cracked open the big gorilla's skull. Dong keeled over onto his back.

Bao Zhi stomped down on Dong's leg. There was a loud _*crack!*_ as his femur shattered. Dong shrieked like a banshee. He screamed even louder when Bao Zhi did the same thing to his other leg and both his arms.

Bao Zhi didn't even realize that the entire battle had stopped around him. He unscrewed his flask, which wasn't even dented from its collision with Dong's skull. He took a long swig of its contents and wiped his face. "I made a promise I'd kill you." He said to the broken, shivering Dong.

Dong tried to writhe away like a worm, but was pinned by a stomp to his spine. "I _always_ keep my promises."

With a mighty roar, Bao Zhi gripped Dong by the chin and ripped his head clean off.

The remaining bandits gaped at the sight of their dead leader for only a moment. Then they turned tail and jumped overboard, swimming as fast as possible.

Li Sheng walked up to the blood soaked baboon holding the severed head. "Well…that was dramatic."

Bao Zhi nodded. "Get someone at the tiller to get this thing to Blue Moon Isle. My friends need a mode of escape, and I'm too drunk to pilot a ship." He tossed Dong's head overboard and kicked at the body. "And someone get this mess cleaned up."

As they hustled to comply, nobody noticed a large shadow beneath the water moving towards the struggling bandits.

* * *

Gishi gave a small, hissing laugh at the sheer boldness and simplicity of his plan. It would only work if these guys were as dumb as rocks. But, judging by the rest of them, that was fairly likely.

As soon as one of the big elephants passed by him, Gishi slipped behind him and, using his body like a whip, struck the elephant on the rear hard enough to make him jump. In mid-air, Gishi seized the waist of his pants and slammed him onto his head. He dragged the unconscious pachyderm into the tall grass, where he couldn't be seen by the others.

As he'd predicted, the other five heard the noise and came rushing to check it out. This was the part that risked a lot on their intelligence. If they were smart enough to realize that their number had decreased by one, then Gishi would be in big trouble. However, if they were like the wolf he'd interrogated earlier, chances were that they'd just go back on patrol.

That seemed to be the case. The remaining five lost interest in it and went back to patrolling their various routes.

Gishi gave another small, hissing laugh, which none of the guards noticed. This was going to be easy.

* * *

It took only a few minutes for Gishi to repeat his actions with the five other guards. He left a respectable pile of unconscious bodies hidden just inside the tree line.

Gishi eyed the boathouse, trying to see a way in.

"There's a big hole in the roof."

The tattooed python jumped several feet in the air. He whirled around to face Bing. "What are you doing here!?" He hissed.

Bing shrugged, looking away. "I…finished my part of the mission. I decided to come and see if you needed help."

Gishi perked up. "What'd you find? Did you figure out where the other members of Yang Chao's gang are?"

Bing bared his teeth in an expression that made him look severely constipated. "I'll tell you later." He tensed up, as if he'd heard something. "Someone's coming. Someone big."

Gishi was about to make a clever reply, but Bing grabbed him by the face, forcibly pinning his jaws shut. He grunted in protest as Bing dragged him out of sight.

Gishi whipped around as soon as soon as he was released. "What are you-?"

"Shhh!" Bing hushed. He crouched down in the tall grass to become less visible. He pointed at the path. "Look!"

The massive bear in the horned helmet could only have been E Jile, but it was the battered, possibly dead hare dangling by her ears from his giant paw that had their attention. "No way!" Gishi whispered. "He beat Yin Bei!"

"It would appear that our quarry is more than meets the eye." Bing agreed. "We need to save her, but I don't think that tackling him head-on is a good idea. We need to focus on rescuing Bei and the other captives here before anything else. Neutralizing E Jile is secondary. Let's watch what he does."

E Jile scowled around. "Fucking idiots. Probably wandered off to the kitchens again."

"He's probably talking about the guys I took down." Gishi whispered to Bing.

Bing nodded, but didn't appear to have heard. He looked…distracted. Gishi observed that he winced and shifted slightly. Had Bing hurt himself somehow?

Bing noticed his questioning look. Gishi expected him to get mad and snap, but he just looked at the ground and mumbled, "I'll tell you later."

Gishi raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment.

E Jile muttered under his breath as he dragged his captive up to the doors and banged on them hard enough to make the structure shudder. "Open up! I've got more meat for the shipment!"

"What's the password?" Called a voice from inside.

"Open the door or I'll crush your skull!"

"Correct!" The sentry replied cheerfully. The door opened, and E Jile disappeared inside.

Bing and Gishi stepped out of the grass. "We need to get in there."

Gishi nodded determinedly. "Hole in the roof, right? Let's go!"

He took off, but Bing seized his tail and dragged him back. "There's nothing for you to climb up." He explained. "If you jump up, it'll make too much noise and reveal our hand too early. I'll go in first, and see if I can find a way to let you in."

Gishi was about to argue, but Bing dashed off. Gishi sighed. He hated that he was too heavy to scale anything other than trees with the ease that Bing could muster. At least he'd be able to wreak some havoc once Bing let him in.

* * *

Bing was up on the roof of the boathouse in a flash. There were few beings better at slipping into buildings unnoticed than he was. He dropped down through the large, jagged gap in the ceiling, landing lightly on a rafter.

Bing had been telling the truth when he'd said that there was no visible way in for Gishi, but he had other reasons for wanting to do this alone. His body hadn't been the only thing injured by Yang Chao. His pride had taken a far worse beating. Bing's current mood could be described in two words: _Royally. Pissed._ He couldn't take out his anger on Yang Chao, though. Instead, Bing planned on making E Jile suffer.

Bing peeked down from the rafter. Below him was a ship, but not like the passenger ship they'd ridden in on. This was a true blue warship. It had a thick hull that was covered in red painted armor. Instead of a steering oar, this ship had a wheel at the helm. But what surprised Bing most were the six long tubes in the shape of dragon heads lining each side of the deck. Bing had heard rumors of those things being created by Lord Shen prior to his banishment. They were supposedly weaponized fireworks that fired large iron balls. Bing had heard someone refer to them as "Cannons". Those could be potentially useful.

Far below, E Jile stomped past two wolf sentries. Even from this height, Bing could see the scars on the wolves. Lesser criminals would have seen them as experienced warriors and left them alone. Bing saw them as idiots who didn't know how to duck. Both wore town watch uniforms. Bing quickly came to the same conclusion that Bei had. It wasn't all that farfetched, all things considered. _'Hmm…That explains why Yang Chao recruited him. I'll need to be careful.'_

E Jile carried Yin Bei onto the boat, to the hold hatch, which was locked by three thick steel padlocks. E Jile produced three individual keys and unlocked them. As he opened the hatch to toss in Yin Bei, a cloud of purple gas wafted out. Bing didn't have to be able to smell them to know that they were the result of burning opium in incense. They must have been drugging the prisoners with the gas. More than likely they were only using it lightly, to avoid killing them outright.

E Jile tossed Yin Bei into the hold, allowing the hatch to slam shut. He reapplied the padlocks and replaced the keys on his belt.

Bing winced. There was no time to find a way in for Gishi. He needed to get Yin Bei out of there. If she was exposed to that gas for too long he'd wind up lugging her back to Rooster instead of completing the mission. That was unacceptable.

Bing sized up his mark. E Jile was sitting on the deck, twirling his hammer and looking up at the hole in the ceiling. _'He's expecting us, but he doesn't know I'm here already. Good.'_ He cast a glance at the lit torches lining the walls. _'I need to put those out. I know for a fact that I have better night vision than all three of them. That'll give me an opportunity to get the keys and grab Bei.'_

It had been a long time since he'd used the gifts his torturers had given him. They were from a time he wished he could have forgotten, instead of his life before those ancient dungeons. But he needed to take out his frustrations on someone, and these three were begging to meet a true predator.

Bing closed his eyes. He pictured darkness building up within him, like cold, black water. He took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

* * *

E Jile heard one of the wolves shiver. "Did it get cold in here all of a sudden?" The other wolf asked.

E Jile came back to his senses. He'd been meditating while waiting for the side dishes to show up. It _did_ seem colder in here. Normally Lu Lake was humid and uncomfortably warm. His bandits had always whined that it was a pain to light fires here. It felt like Yang Chao's laboratory in here.

All at once, the torches went out.

Bing's eyes opened. They flashed purple in the pitch dark. He smiled at the sounds of the wolves milling about in panic. "Game on."

 **End of Chapter 5**

 **Bing is starting to show his dark side. Keeps it well hidden, doesn't he?**

 **I had planned on finishing the E Jile arc in one chapter, but this thing is 3,000+ words. It would have taken a lot longer than it already has to finish this thing if I didn't split it into two chapters.**

 **Thanks again to Berserker88 for helping me out. If he hadn't, this chapter would have taken another week at the very least.**

 **Also, I'll place a warning at the top of any chapter that contains any mature content, just like I did with this one. Please read, review, follow, and favorite. I have a hungry ego that needs feeding.**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I only own my OC's.**

 **This chapter is rated M for violent death. You have been warned.**

 **Chapter 6: Rough Waters/ An Ironic End**

On a small boat out in the green waters of Lu Lake, two figures sat. One was a certain white hare in a red kerchief. The other was a red squirrel wearing a purple hooded cloak. A sudden cold wind blew over the two.

A big smile crossed Yang Chao's face. "Looks like you were right, Priestess. Ol' Bings couldn't resist freeing the beast."

The Priestess took a break from rowing to wink at him. "Told you so! I know how Chosen like him think. The Darkness is always whispering in their ears, trying to find a way to get loose. I bet that amulet of yours will be lighting up any second now."

Yang Chao pulled a spherical clay amulet out from his shirt. It was almost identical to the one he'd given Bing, but instead of a vulture etched into its surface, it bore the visage of a crow. "Nope. Looks like Tall, Dark, and Gruesome managed to control himself."

The Priestess pouted. "Well that's no fun!" Suddenly, her eyes flared bright pink, and she stiffened. "The Darkness is speaking!" She paused for a brief moment, then let out a cutesy laugh. "Tee hee! The Darkness just gave me a brilliant idea!"

Yang Chao watched curiously as the Priestess pulled out her own amulet, this one bearing the image of a lark. She began singing softly in a strange language. After a few minutes, he felt a warm dampness on his cheeks. Putting his hand to his face, he discovered that his ears had begun bleeding.

Luckily, the Priestess stopped her singing right then. The Lark Amulet emitted a pink glow, and a beam of pink light streaked into the water.

"What did you do?" Yang Chao asked curiously. It didn't bother him that his ears were bleeding. He had suffered far worse maladies as a result of his experiments, so he had no fear of the strange gifts that the Priestess possessed. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"I made a new friend." The Priestess replied with a mischievous grin.

* * *

Outside the boathouse, Gishi stared idly off into space, stewing in irritation as he wondered what was taking Bing so long.

A strong, cold wind blew over him. The tattooed snake shivered. Something about that wind didn't feel natural.

* * *

Bing dropped down onto the shoulders of the first wolf. Smothering the shout of surprise with one paw, he drew back his other hand and struck the nerve cluster on the back of the hapless lupine's neck. The watchwolf was so effectively paralyzed that he didn't even collapse. Instead, he remained standing, like a statue. As the other one started to call out, Bing jammed his long, hairless tail into the wolf's mouth. The poor, stupid thing tried to resist by biting down, but he barely had time to react before he felt a sharp jab to the center of his chest. His muscles seized up painfully, and he fell over.

E Jile struck a tinderbox, lighting a lantern. Bing was only slightly too slow in jumping back up into the rafters. E Jile spotted his hairless feet just before they exited the area of illumination. The bear let out a low chuckle. "Oh, this one's good! Much better than the little scrap of a snack that came after me last." He shined the lantern upwards, towards the rafters. "Now, where did my dinner go?"

Bing smiled. E Jile truly was stupid to believe that he had actually stayed up in the rafters after being spotted. It had been a simple matter to slip down from the ceiling and land on the boat's deck…

…directly behind E Jile.

E Jile felt a tug on his belt. He swung his hammer in a lightning-fast arc of destruction that would have crushed the skull of an ordinary adversary.

Bing was not an ordinary adversary.

E Jile was shocked to have his hammer meet nothing but empty air. He was completely astounded to have his pants fall down around his ankles.

Bing had not been the leader of a gang of master criminals for not taking risks. Instead of taking the unnecessary time and effort to free each individual key from the iron key ring, he'd cut the Gordian knot by biting through the bear's belt, and taking the whole thing. He was rewarded, not only with the keys, but also with the rather comical sight of E Jile struggling to pull up his fallen trousers. Before E Jile could blink, he heard three rapid clicks as Bing unlocked the hatch and dove into the purple smoke. He shone his light at the hatch, only to see the giant black rat directly in front of him, cradling Yin Bei, with a terrifying smile on his face. _"Lights out!"_ He proclaimed with glee. He blew out the lantern.

Bing wasted no time using the darkness to vanish with Bei up to the ship's crow's nest. A plan had formed in his mind, but, in order to execute it, he needed to wake Bei up before E Jile realized he'd swiped the tinderbox. He didn't have any smelling salts, so he settled for a rapid barrage of precise nerve strikes.

Bei sputtered awake. Bing muffled her exclamation with one paw. Thankfully, she hadn't been in the opium gas long enough to put her under its influence. However, she'd had more than enough contact with E Jile's war hammer to make her feel like she'd been run over by a rickshaw. As soon as she saw Bing, she remembered what was going on. "Where are we?" She whispered.

"Crow's nest of a warship." Bing replied. "Ready for a second shot at E Jile?"

Yin Bei's pain vanished beneath a wave of adrenaline. "Fuck. Yes."

Bing couldn't help a small smile. "Watch your language, young lady. Now, follow my lead."

E Jile had been scrambling to find his tinderbox in the dark. He loosed a sigh of relief when a beam of light came down as the moon lined up with the hole in the roof. What the light revealed, however, brought terror to his heart.

Bing leaned against the railing casually. Behind him, Yin Bei stood atop it, next to the mooring rope.

She was holding the tinderbox.

Bei looked directly at E Jile as she lit the mooring line on fire.

The ship began to shift as it was pulled about by the receding tides out onto the lake. The heavy ship smashed through the boathouse doors, and into open water.

"Take the wheel!" Bei called to Bing. "I'll handle E Jile."

E Jile struggled for balance on the deck of the ship. He _hated_ sailing. It was a necessary evil for transporting his cargo, but he was never able to get his sea legs. Balance hadn't been his strongpoint even back in his days in training.

Bei had no such problems. Her balance was perfect. The odds were more even now, but E Jile was still heavily armored

E Jile struck with a horizontal swing, which Bei dodged easily. The shift in weight caused him to topple to the deck. He attempted to rise, but was weighted down by his armor.

Bei had a big grin on her face as she kicked him hard in the face. She laughed as the bear bellowed. She kicked him several more times, just for the sheer pleasure of it.

E Jile forced himself to his feet with a furious snarl. He swept his hammer at Bei's legs, but she jumped over it, planting her foot into his helmet. The ox hide was much softer than the rest of his armor, but still thick enough to soften the impact.

E Jile tried to bring his hammer around for another swing, but Bing jerked the wheel hard to the right, causing the deck to lurch beneath him. E Jile was thrown against the rail. Bei leapt up, doing a somersault in midair to plant her feet on his chest. His armor protected him, but its weight also pinned him against the rail, and he now had a raging hare on his chest.

Bei hit him in the face with a barrage of rapid-fire ear strikes. E Jile's face whipped back and forth as he was pummeled by the bizarrely strong appendages. Finally, Bei hit him with an ear uppercut that knocked his helmet off. As the ship righted itself, E Jile managed to grab Bei by the ears and throw her off, only to fall to his knees as something rammed the ship.

"Need some help Bei?" A familiar voice called.

"Bao Zhi!" Bei cried happily. "Nah, I got this assclown."

"Alright then. Everyone else is below deck. They didn't want to freak you out."

E Jile forced himself to his feet. He roared and charged, swinging his hammer like a madman.

Now it was Bei who was on the defensive. She knew that she'd be finished if that hammer made contact. She dodged back and forth as fast as she could. _'Damn! I can't keep this up for long! I need to put him down! But how…?'_ Her eyes were drawn to the cannons, and she smiled. _'Heh heh heh…'_

As E Jile swung, Bei jumped up and landed on his hammer. Using the momentum of his swing, she flung herself backwards, landing perfectly balanced on the rail. "Lean the ship towards me!" She yelled to Bing.

Bing heaved the wheel to the left, causing the ship to lean sharply, and throwing E Jile right into Yin Bei.

Bei caught him in her ears, giving a cry of effort as she lifted him up.

Bei jumped into the air, spinning around and slamming the bear down onto the deck of Bao Zhi's ship.

The baboon winced. "That looked like it hurt!"

E Jile slowly pushed himself to his feet. He staggered, looking around for where she'd gone. He saw her almost immediately.

She was perched atop the cannon, holding the tinderbox. The fuse had already been lit.

Yin Bei laughed as the cannon fired in a blaze of red. The massive _*Boom!*_ echoed across the water, and the iron ball rocketed towards E Jile.

They all watched in silence as the smoke cleared. They all expected E Jile to have been blown to smithereens.

E Jile emerged from the smoke with a fierce roar, backhanding Yin Bei across the deck. In one hand, he held a clay amulet with the image of a crane, which was brightly glowing green.

The cannonball was lodged in the chest plate of his armor.

The furious bear ripped the damaged chest piece off and tossed it into the water. He did the same with his hammer. "I'm going to rip you apart with my bare hands." He growled at Bei.

But Bei noticed something strange; Instead of a splashing sound, E Jile's hammer had landed with a meaty _*thud!*_

Bei's eyes bugged out as the creature rose up out of the water. "By the gods!" Bing exclaimed.

Wondering what was behind him that his victims found so fascinating, E Jile turned.

His jaw dropped.

The sea serpent was gigantic. It was nearly ten feet in diameter, with jade-green scales. Its head was like that of a dragon, with multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. The serpent was angry, and the reason was clear: Balanced on its snout, right between its glowing pink eyes…was E Jile's hammer.

The creature opened its mouth wide, and chomped down on E Jile's upper body. With a heave of the serpent's neck, and a loud _*gulp!*_ , E Jile vanished into its throat, swallowed whole.

Bei scrambled back across the deck, sure that she would be the creature's next meal.

But the creature didn't move to eat her. Instead, it seemed to cough. It loosed tortured sounds, seeming to suffocate.

"It's choking!" Bao Zhi realized.

Bei saw the bulge in its throat where the bear seemed to be stuck. She glanced at the cannon, and a great idea came to mind.

* * *

E Jile clutched the amulet tightly, its green glow granting him invulnerability. With his other hand, he gripped the flesh of the monster's throat. He grinned like a shark. Once the serpent choked to death, he would emerge from the beast's throat and tear those fools limb from bloody limb.

Suddenly, a loud _*boom!*_ came from outside. A huge impact struck E Jile, causing him to lose his grip on the side of the creature's esophagus. _'No matter. So long as the amulet is intact, I can survive.'_

He looked at the amulet, and realized with horror that it no longer glowed. A large crack spread across its surface.

* * *

Yang Chao watched at the cannonball struck the creature's throat, dislodging E Jile. The hare's own amulet flared purple. "Looks like Sweet Lil' Sis did it." He remarked. "That was fun to watch."

"Told you so." The Priestess said with a smirk. "Three… two… one…"

Yang Chao's amulet flared purple. On its surface, directly above the crow's head, a green dot glowed. "Yep. Got it. Let's get out of here."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 6**

 **One down, five to go. Thanks again to Berserker88 for helping out with the details.**

 **I've got an announcement. Since this tournament craze has taken hold, I decided to have a tournament arc of my own. Of course, I'll need OC's for this. Berserker88 has already contributed. Only catch is, I need** _ **villain**_ **OC's. Criminals, mercenaries, bandits, and assassins. They fit better with what I've got planned. Also, keep in mind that this fic takes place between KFP1 and KFP2.**

 **So, what's with the amulets? Why did Yang Chao seem glad that E Jile died? Who exactly was E Jile? And** _ **what**_ **the Hell is the Priestess? All of this to come!**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I own my OC's.**

 **Chapter 7- How to Train Your Sea Serpent/A Secret Revealed**

Yin Bei sat in the shadows, meditating. It was dark and wet in here, and it stank, but it was quiet, and that was what mattered to her.

Despite her aching bones and muscles, Yin Bei's face was a calm mask. Had anyone else been in the small space with her, they would not be able to guess the emotional war that was going on in her mind. On one hand, she was ecstatic that E Jile had gotten what he deserved, and was currently being digested. On the other, she felt…hollow. Though part of her task had been accomplished, she still felt like something was missing. It was as if she had removed a piece of a puzzle, cut in in half, and replaced only one of the halves. What made it worse was that her adrenaline had faded away after the fight with E Jile, and she could feel every one of her injuries. She already had a large bruise spreading across the left side of her face from when the hammer had struck her back in the boathouse, and another on her chest.

The ground beneath her suddenly moved, and sunlight suddenly flooded Bei's space. She found herself looking into the concerned gaze of her new friend.

"I'm okay, Jade." Bei told the sea serpent from her position on its tongue. In the hours since she'd saved it from choking to death, the creature had decided that it owed her a life debt. It didn't seem capable of speech, but its face was so expressive that it could speak without words. Bei had nicknamed it Jade in honor of its beautiful scales.

Jade clearly didn't believe her. Even after only knowing him (Bei didn't know why, but Jade seemed like a male to her.) for a few hours, Bei highly suspected that he could read her mind. At first she had been terrified of the gigantic creature, and Bing and Bao Zhi had jumped up to defend her. Before they could try to fire one of the cannons, Jade had gently nudged them out of the way to look the shaking hare in the eye. Bei had been transfixed by the majestic serpent's gaze. The sheer intelligence there was shocking. Bei had trembled as the creature had rubbed her with his nose.

Bei had frozen. Had it just… _nuzzled_ her?

It was Bao Zhi who had realized that something strange had occurred. "Its eyes changed color!" The primate had exclaimed. Sure enough, Jade's eyes had gone from glowing pink to a dark silver color.

When Bao Zhi had said those words, Bing had, for a split second, stiffened. So slightly that Bei barely noticed it, but just enough that she thought it strange.

If Bing noticed her questioning look, he didn't show it. He placed a paw on the side of Jade's nose. "Someone was controlling you, weren't they?" He said softly, in a voice Bei had only heard him use once before, on the night her father had died.

Jade had nodded sadly. Bing had patted the side of the great serpent's snout, and glanced at the injured hare. "We need to go call the Imperial Guard and take care of things on Blue Moon Isle. Can you keep an eye on her for a while?"

Jade nodded empathically, giving her a playful nuzzle. Bei wasn't worried about being harmed. She had seen the emotion and intelligence in those eyes. The Haze wasn't even a factor; she knew beyond a doubt that there was no scenario in which this beautiful being would willingly harm her.

Jade gave Bei a stern look, demanding she tell him what was wrong. She had already related the tale of her parents' death, and her own quest for vengeance. Jade had floated calmly in the lake, allowing Bei to sit atop his snout as she spoke. If she ever began to falter or sob, Jade would gently wobble his snout to shake her out of it. Before long, Bei's story had ended, and the two sat quietly for a while, until the sun began to rise.

Bei looked away from Jade. She was not a good liar, and she knew it. She confessed about her sudden depression.

Jade's eyes softened. He lifted Bei up and set her down on his snout. Swimming into shallower waters, he rested his belly on the lakebed and lifted his tail up within Yin Bei's reach.

Bei was confused. What was Jade doing?

Jade swayed his tail in an oddly familiar movement. He jabbed it forward, lightly shoving Bei's shoulder and almost making her lose her balance.

A realization struck Bei. "You want me to spar with your tail?"

In answer, Jade jabbed again. This one was blocked by one of Bei's ears. For an eighty-foot serpent, he was good at restraining his strength. The jab held no more force than an ordinary punch.

Smiling, Bei retaliated with a roundhouse. Jade dodged, bending his tail back like a fighter doing a backbend. Before he could straighten it, Bei jumped into a somersault to build up momentum, then brought both of her large feet down in a hard stomp. The stomp not only had a large amount of momentum behind it, but also had the power of her well-developed abdominal and leg muscles. It would have broken bones on an opponent without diamond-hard scales.

From a hilltop nearby, Bing, Gishi, and Rooster watched her. Bao Zhi directed a group of imperial soldiers as they loaded the bandits onto several prison ships docked nearby.

"She's getting good." Bing commented.

Rooster nodded. "But not good enough. From what you told me, had you not been there, she would have died."

Bing drew in breath to defend Bei, but Gishi cut in to defuse the situation. "Yeah. I wish I could have seen that fight on the ship, but SOMEBODY left me behind!"

Bing shrugged. "Sorry. I had to act quickly. Speaking of which, we've been avoiding the subject of Yang Chao."

Rooster nodded grimly. He had been briefly informed on what had happened. The Black Hood had been deathly embarrassed at having accidentally led them into a trap. He'd left quickly, promising to pay back his debt as soon as possible. "You said he gave you something. May I see it?"

Bing nodded, producing the Vulture Amulet from a pocket in his vest.

As soon as Rooster saw it, his feathers fluffed up in shock. "No… No… This… This…" He was truly at a loss for words.

Gishi tilted his head. "What is it?"

Bing ignored him. "I know it's a relic from the Birds of Prey, but it isn't one that I recognize from the Pits."

Rooster shook his head. "No. This is not one of those. I don't know exactly what this is, but I know that symbol anywhere. I don't want to explain right now. We should collect Yin Bei and get home, that way you can all hear this at the same time." He shook his head again, his face grim. "I had hoped to never see this mark again." He whispered.

Their attention was distracted by a sudden yell. "Hold on, Yin Bei! I shall save you!"

Gishi slapped his face with his tail. "Not this asshole…"

One of the soldiers had noticed Yin Bei with Jade. He was an orange cat, about three feet tall, with green eyes. He wore the standard armor of a low-ranking soldier, and brandished a broadsword many times bigger than himself, although he seemed like he wasn't having much trouble lifting it.

Bei buried her face in her paws. Jang had been determined to win her heart since they were twelve. He was unintelligent, arrogant, and loud. Despite all of the beatings he'd received, he still believed he could conquer Bei.

With a loud battle cry, Jang leapt into the air. He brought his sword down in a hard vertical stroke.

The sword clanged off of Jade's scales like nothing more than a toothpick. Jang's whole body vibrated, and he collapsed, stunned.

Jade eyed him with a bemused look. "You can eat him if you want." Bei told him.

Jade seemed to decide that Jang wasn't good for his digestion. Instead, he gently grabbed the cat's scruff between his teeth. Rearing back he threw Jang off towards the center of the lake. Bei watched as he sailed through the air with a massive splash.

Bei turned around, smiling. She _was_ smiling, at least, until she saw the soldiers on the beach, watching with gaping jaws. Her muscles froze up, and she started to scream.

Luckily for the solders, her screech was muffled by feathers. "It's time to go home, Bei." Rooster told her with a smile. He turned her back away from the soldiers, and said to Jade; "We have to leave. You can follow our ship, if you wish. That way you can see the port."

Jade nodded, causing the two people on his nose to bounce up and down.

* * *

It was late afternoon before they reached home. After all she had been through, Bei just wanted to collapse into bed.

She felt like she'd only slept for a few minutes when Bing shook her awake. "We need to talk."

* * *

Yin Bei's reaction to Bing's report wasn't at all what they'd thought it would be.

As they sat around a small table in the kitchen, they expected her to start crying, possibly having a nervous breakdown. As it was, she took the news calmly. "So… Yang Chao knew we were coming?"

Bing nodded. "He was insanely powerful. This confirms our worst fears; Yang Chao has learned to use the Death Touch."

Bing rested his head on the table. "I'm sorry Bei." He said dejectedly. "I just wasn't good enough. I'm not sure if anyone is."

Rooster cleared his throat. "That is untrue. I know of one user of the Death Touch who has been defeated. The very same vulture who's emblem is on that amulet." He nodded to the object laying on the table. "I was not present when the Aviary fell, as Bing is no doubt aware, since he was present during the prisoner revolt in the pits."

"What are those?" Gishi asked. "Sorry. I wasn't there, and I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rooster sighed. This wasn't a story he liked to tell. "I'll try to give you the short version. Many years ago, I was a member of a group known as the Birds of Prey. Obviously, most of us were birds, even though there were multiple members, such as myself, who were not predatory. But, I digress. The goals of our group were noble at first; we wanted to learn more about the world. We hoped to bring about a new age of science and technology. Sadly, we were unsuccessful. Since we had failed with science, we turned our research to magic. I do not exaggerate when I say that this was the worst decision we ever made. We made contact with ancient beings; creatures who existed before the Earth, possibly before Heaven. Unnatural creatures with knowledge of terrible magic."

"Our members were corrupted. We began kidnapping and experimenting on others. The most successful procedures and spells we also used on ourselves. One of these was the Death Touch. I was given the ability to tell when others were lying. Bing here is one of the few subjects who kept most of his sanity. He was in one of our laboratories, known as the Pits."

"I began to hate what we had become, and I was not the only one. A member of ours, calling himself Viccori, made contact with me. He had plans to strike down both of our laboratories, ending the reign of terror that the Birds had wrought. We planned to lure the leaders of the Birds, known as the Magisters, to the labs in the Aviary and the Pits. We would bring the Royal Guard to the Pits. But since the location of the Aviary was nearly impossible to reach for anyone who couldn't fly, Viccori had to improvise. He wound up releasing the prisoners. Most of the ones in the Pits were arrested, but almost all of the Magisters in the Aviary were...eaten. All but one. The leader of our group, known only as the Watcher, survived, but was captured. It was he who discovered the Death Touch. He lies in a hidden prison, that only I knew the location of. At least until Yang Chao found the map I made to it."

"WHAT!?" Bei yelled. "It was YOU who made it possible for Yang Chao to kill my parents!"

Rooster closed his eyes. He'd been expecting this. "Basically…yes."

Bei was boiling in her fur. Every part of her wanted to claw her Master's eyes out, but she restrained herself. "I'm going to bed." She announced. "Don't wake me up." She left without another word.

Bing and Gishi got right up in Rooster's face. "You could have shown a little bit of tact there!" Gishi yelled.

Bing nodded in agreement. "You should have known better than to tell her that." He accused.

Rooster said nothing. His defense came from a surprising source. "Actually, he couldn't have done anything else."

They both whirled around to glare at Bao Zhi. "What are you talking about?" Bing snarled.

The primate didn't respond with anger. He was calm, and, shockingly enough, sober. "I was Rooster's first student. Long before even Bing showed up, years after the Pits, I was training here. I know his one great weakness: Not only can he tell when others lie, he also has a hard time even speaking partial truths. It's why he decided to stay behind."

Bing looked at Rooster. "Is that true?"

Rooster nodded.

Everyone was quiet for a long time. Bing broke the silence. "Yang Chao said we need to pay a visit to the God of Death. He had to have been talking about the Watcher."

"I'll pay a visit to the Watcher." Rooster agreed. "He may not help me willingly, but I have ways of getting information from him. I will leave tonight. You, on the other hand, need to prepare Yin Bei for any coming conflict with Yang Chao or his minions. You trained often with Swift Hare, Bing. You know how Ten Limb works. Begin with her advanced training in the morning."

"What do we do about the chores?" Gishi asked.

Rooster shrugged. "At this point, I don't care. Bao Zhi will be in charge of the training drills."

Bao Zhi nodded. "I'll stay sober until you get back."

Rooster smiled. "I know you will. I need to go before long. I don't want to waste any more time than is absolutely necessary."

As Rooster left, Gishi turned to the baboon. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Bao Zhi?"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 7**

 **Bao Zhi does indeed have a responsible side. That really is the short version of the Birds of Prey. There is a TON more to it, but that's for later. Yes, I also know that I haven't gotten into E Jile's past yet. Don't worry. That happens fairly soon. Not next chapter, but soon. Thanks to Berzerker88 for coming up with the title.**

 **I am VERY sorry for how long this took to get out. I have been insanely busy lately. This chapter is slightly rushed, but I'm glad I got through it. Now I can get to the fun stuff.**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own Kung Fu Panda. I own my OC's.**

 **Caution-Severe beating, mutilation. Viewer discretion advised.**

 **Chapter 8- Dark Dreams/Little White Lie**

Yin Bei found herself in a dark chamber. The walls and floor were made of smooth gray stone, dyed red with countless bloodstains. Hooks dangled from chains attached to a ceiling she could not see. She began to quake with fear when she saw bodies of all species hanging from some of them. Jars containing viscous green fluid lined shelves on the walls.

"Welcome to my laboratory."

Yin Bei stiffened. She knew that voice well, even after all these years. How could she forget? It belonged to the person who'd changed her life forever. "You…!"

Yang Chao was sitting calmly on the floor, smiling at her. This was the first time Yin Bei had ever actually gotten a good look at him. He appeared to be in his late thirties. He was slightly taller than she was, but also stockier. He still wore the same black vest and pants as he had that night, with the same red kerchief around his neck. His grin was the same cheeky slit across his face. Unlike Yin Bei, his long ears hung down behind his head. They were somewhat shorter than hers. At his waist, a long dagger rested in its sheath on his belt.

Yin Bei said the first coherent thing that came to her mind: "Your fur is still white."

Yang Chao's grin grew even bigger. "Yup. Guess I got the short end of the trait stick in our family."

Yin Bei finally managed to shake off her shock enough to launch a flying kick at his face. From his sitting position, there was no way the male hare could have dodged.

He didn't. Instead, he rose to his feet and, fast as a heart attack, punched her hard in the groin with the force of a charging rhino.

Yin Bei's momentum halted from that single punch, and she thudded to the floor. The wind rushed out of her. Waves of unbearable pain racked her body. It felt like her torso had been cracked open. The pain overwhelmed her thoughts, and she was only slightly aware of her brother standing disappointedly over her. "Oh, little Beibei. Don't you learn? If Bing couldn't stop me, what on Earth made you think you could?" He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "That was a very stupid move. But that's okay. Because there's a way I can make you smarter. All I have to do is teach you a lesson!"

Yin Bei tried in vain to crawl away. Yang Chao stopped her by stomping on her back. "I may not be able to use the Death Touch here, but I can still give you the beating of your life. Now _get up!"_

He didn't give her a choice. He pulled her up by her ears with one hand, delivering a punch to the gut that knocked what little air she'd been able to recover right out of her. As she fell, he kicked her hard in the ribs. Yin Bei struggled to breathe.

Yang Chao smiled. "This can end, Yin Bei. All you have to do is beg me to stop."

Yin Bei gritted her teeth and shook her head. Ignoring the pain, she forced herself to her feet and took a weak ear swing at his head. Yang Chao easily sidestepped, roundhouse kicking her in the jaw and knocking a couple of her teeth out. He grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground, breaking her nose. Her eyes filled with involuntary tears as blood streamed from her nostrils.

"Had enough yet?" Yang Chao asked her nonchalantly.

In answer, she swung a wild punch at him, not even aiming. Yang Chao caught it in one hand, twisting her arm to force her back to her knees. He hit her elbow with a palm strike.

Yin Bei shrieked as her arm snapped like a dry twig.

If she thought that was the worst pain Yang Chao could inflict, that thought was dispelled by the hiss of steel being drawn. Her ears were seized and pulled up. Then came the most intense pain she had ever felt as his knife went to work. She couldn't even scream. All she could do was groan. As he let her thud to the floor, two other objects fell beside her, and Yin Bei realized numbly that Yang Chao had just cut her ears off.

Yin Bei whimpered weakly.

"What was that?" Yang Chao asked with a smile.

"Please… Please stop…" Yin Bei begged.

Yang Chao's smile grew bigger. "No worries, little sis. You can think of all this as just a bad dream. And look on the bright side; you came out of it smarter, didn't you? Heh heh heh!"

Yin Bei didn't have the strength to resist as he grabbed her chin and lifted it up. She was almost glad when the knife slashed across her throat.

* * *

Bei awoke in a cold sweat, struggling for breath. She looked around wildly, a relieved smile crossing her face as she found herself in the safety of her own room, with all of her limbs still attached. _'It was just a nightmare.'_ She'd had nightmares about Yang Chao before, but this was a new one. It was by far the most vivid one she'd had as well.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a delicious scent wafting into her room. _'Breakfast!'_

Casting off the white silk robe that she wore while sleeping, Yin Bei dashed out of her room and out of the barracks, hopping rather acrobatically as she pulled her pants and vest on while running. She dropped into all-fours to get as much speed as possible.

She skidded to a stop just before crashing into the kitchen door, which she flung open.

Bing had just set a platter of steaming dumplings on the low table. Gishi was coiled up, hissing impatiently. Bao Zhi sat sullenly, obviously nursing a severe hangover.

Gishi smiled at her. "Morning Sunshine! How're you feeling?"

Bei shrugged. "I'm covered in bruises, my Master is a fool, my dreams decided to betray me last night, and, to top it all off, I'm starving. I think 'not good' covers things nicely." She didn't want to talk about her nightmare, so she quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of Master Rooster, where is he? I don't think he's ever missed breakfast before."

"We'll talk about that after breakfast." Bing replied, setting a heaping plate of dumplings in front of her. "Eat. We have a long day in store for us."

There was no more conversation as they all dug in. Bing was by far the best cook out of all of them, and his dumplings were fit for the gods themselves. Their crusts were sweet, fluffy perfection. The filling was savory vegetables soaked in gravy.

Once she finished, Yin Bei lie down on her back, smiling broadly. She licked some of the excess gravy from her whiskers.

"Don't get too comfortable." Bing advised. "After you finish training today, you and I are going to the harbor."

"Why?" Yin Bei asked suspiciously. Bing knew how bad she was in public places. Why on Earth would he take her to a crowded harbor filled to the brim with trade ships?

"Rooster says that it's time to begin your advanced training." Bing replied. "Swift Hare had secret training places throughout China before he came here. I'm going to take you to one of them."

"Why can't Master Rooster train me, like usual?" Yin Bei argued. Her trust in Rooster had been greatly diminished, but he was still her Master.

"Because he left." Bao Zhi answered simply.

"Where did he go?"

They all looked at each other. "We don't know." Gishi said sheepishly. "He went to go talk to that Watcher guy, to see if he could tell us how to stop Yang Chao."

Bei closed her eyes. She knew Rooster well enough to know that, while he genuinely did want to stop Yang Chao, this was more to prove that he was still trustworthy.

"Go do your morning exercises." Bing instructed. "I'll pack your bags for you. Bao Zhi, go with her to oversee them."

"Sure." The silver primate agreed. "C'mon Bei. Let's get going."

* * *

Bei's training regimen started off with twenty laps around the perimeter of the forest surrounding the compound. Then she used her ears to pull chains tied around adult trees for several hours. Then came one hundred pushups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred pullups. Finally, she did a run through the Hall of Pain. Normally she'd be able to collapse into bed afterwards, but this time she couldn't.

She was lucky. The ship that they boarded was small, and the only other people onboard were the crewmen.

"So, where is this 'secret training place' you mentioned?" Yin Bei queried.

"Hm? Oh. I lied."

Yin Bei tilted her head. "Why?"

Bing chuckled. "Rooster isn't the only one who had his secrets. Your father and I knew each other before I went into the Pits. After the Pits, I wandered around for about a year, with no memories of my life before that point. Swift Hare found me and reminded me of my old life. He brought me back to the Black Hoods. We brought them back to their former glory."

"My father…was a Black Hood?"

"Indeed he was. Only he wasn't Swift Hare at the time. Back then he called himself Swift the Vagabond. Or just the Vagabond, when he was working for the Hoods."

"Wow." Yin Bei wasn't entirely sure how to feel about this. Her father had often told her stories about his old adventures with his friends. She had always assumed that he had been talking about Bing, Bao Zhi, and Gishi. Had he really been a member of the criminal syndicate?

"We're on our way to the Black Hoods' most well-hidden sanctuary; the Temple of Mist." Bing explained. "We're much more than thieves. Our organization is vast, and we have created many fighting styles for our members. Swift created Ten Limb in this very place. He had…special abilities that only he could use. His symptoms, before he managed to control himself, were very similar to the Haze. I didn't think that they might be related, because your symptoms are much worse than his. But I think now that the solution to our problems lies in the Temple."

"You want me to become a Black Hood?" Bei asked incredulously.

Bing nodded in confirmation. "You won't have to worry about talking to anyone else. Many Black Hoods never speak, and your training will be supervised directly by me."

"Will they still listen to you?" Yin Bei asked with a nervous gulp.

Bing laughed. "Yes. Once a Hood, always a Hood. Even after retirement, I still hold a lot of power. I would be surprised if they didn't try to throw a big feast for us when we get there."

Yin Bei smiled weakly. Even with Bing's reassurance, she was still extremely skeptical. Everything screamed at her that this was a bad idea.

Then she thought about the nightmare, and a new determination arose in her heart. She knew that she wasn't strong enough to beat Yang Chao at this point. She _needed_ to get stronger. If this helped, then she'd do anything they asked.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 8**

 **I know this chapter is a little short compared to my others, but that's because I had to cut it in half. It flows better that way anyway.**

 **Hopefully this chapter won't confuse too many of you. That nightmare sequence was originally a lot more brutal. I took a lot of it out.**

 **I can't think of anything else to say, so until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**

 **EDIT**

 **Changed Yang Chao's outfit to avoid people confusing him for a Black Hood.**


	9. Chapter 9

**All standard disclaimers apply.**

 **Chapter 9-The Temple of Mist/The Prison of Gods**

"We're here."

Yin Bei looked up at the otter captain in surprise. It had only been about a week since they'd departed from Zhongwen Harbor. She had assumed that reaching what Bing had called the Hoods' most well-hidden sanctuary would take months.

The captain turned away, returning to the deck. During the voyage he'd been so cold towards them that even Yin Bei had been slightly offended. "This is a Black Hood ghost ship." Bing had explained. "The crew are trained to get Black Hoods from place to place with no questions. If he speaks to us, there's a chance we'll reveal something that we shouldn't. If that happens, and he gets captured by the enemy, there's a chance that he could give them information that could be greatly troublesome. He's not even allowed to know our names."

"Who is the enemy?" Bei asked. "Imperial soldiers? Other syndicates?"

"Them and others. I can't say more until we're in the Temple."

Bei and Bing went above deck, where Bei's jaw promptly dropped at the sight of the grand city before her. The harbor was packed with ships. The architecture, including a massive tower in the center of the city and what appeared to be a palace on a high hill, with what looked like a bird of some sort on the door, was beautiful.

"Welcome to Gongmen City." Bing announced with the smile of a person finally coming home after a long time away. He looked happier than he'd been in a long time. "The largest, most prosperous city in China. Home to the Masters' Council. Also home to corrupt officials, crooked city guards, and the filthy rich nobles who control them."

Yin Bei could not speak. Her ears dropped down in nervousness at the sheer sizeof the place. She had no idea how she was going to handle all of the people here. She shuddered at the thought.

Bing scratched her between the ears comfortingly, an action that never failed to make her smile. "Don't worry, Bei. Just focus on me. Swifty always focused all of his attention on someone he knew wasn't going to suddenly turn and attack him. That's how he got through things."

The captain coughed.

"Whoops! Sorry."

The ghost ship dropped them off on a small group of sandbars on the far side of the island from the palace. The ship left without a word of farewell from the captain or crew.

Yin Bei looked around. There didn't appear to be any doors, or even any caves. It was just a sheer rock wall.

"Look closer." Bing told her. "Every Black Hood has to find their own way in the first time. Consider this the first part of your initiation."

Yin Bei stared hard at the cliff face. She stained her eyes and squinted. She thought up a dozen different ways that the entrance could be hidden. She felt around the rocks for hidden switches.

Nothing.

"Relax." Bing advised. "Don't try to think of what _might_ be. Let your gaze draw back to see the whole picture. Let yourself see what _is._ "

Bei closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let her view widen, taking in the whole picture instead of specific details.

As with many other things, once she stopped looking, she saw.

"There are lots of little cracks in the cliff face." She realized. "They're so small that I didn't see them before."

"Good!" Bing praised. "Now, what do you do? Do you use them as hand and footholds to climb up?"

"No…" Yin Bei examined the wall more closely, placing a paw on the rocks. She noticed something odd; the cracks in the wall were at completely regular intervals, as if…

And suddenly, it all became clear.

A sequence of events played out before her eyes; she saw a lone Black Hood placing his hands on the wall. As she watched his actions, Yin Bei smiled. "I know what to do."

Bing watched as she placed her paws on the surface of the wall and pushed in. Sure enough, it slid inwards. As she went into the hidden hallway, part of the wall slid down behind her. The whole cliff was actually a large conveyor of stone slabs, placed at intervals and tied together with ropes so that someone could walk through just as the next slab came down to hide the entrance. Bing was duly impressed that she'd figured it out so quickly. It would seem that his suspicions had been correct; Yin Bei indeed had the Sight.

As the slab slid into a hole in the floor, Yin Bei found herself in complete darkness. She heard the grinding of rocks as Bing entered the passage behind her. "Just keep going. It brightens up further in."

They continued along the long, dark tunnel. Yin Bei felt her way along the passage, and it seemed to be widening.

True to Bing's word, they soon saw a dull light ahead of them. It was emanating from a small hole seemingly leading to a larger chamber.

Yin Bei stepped through, and her jaw dropped to her feet, her eyes widening in wonder.

It wasn't just a large chamber- It was a massive, underground cathedral. The ceiling high above was covered in ornate golden chandeliers, all hung at different heights. There were seven of them in total, all burning with a gentle flame.

"The smoke goes up through tiny vents." Bing explained. "We pump it up into the furnace in a sauna, so the smoke from their chimney disguises ours."

His voice had drawn the attention of two other Black Hoods. One was around four feet tall, with what seemed to be a female figure. A bushy, white tail poked out from beneath her uniform.

The other was a red panda. He was mostly red, with white on his face and belly. Instead of the typical Black Hood uniform, he wore only a pair of jade green pants with brown sandals. One of his eyes was a dark, intimidating black, and the other, crossed by a long scar, was a pale, milky blue. In one hand was a long spear, with a small burlap sack tied to the end.

When she saw them, the female waved in greeting. The red panda's face twisted in rage. "YOU!"

Yin Bei yelped as she found herself roughly tackled. The red panda pinned her down with one paw on her chest, leveling the deadly spear at her throat.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here! You-!" He stopped mid-sentence, looking down in shock at the hand on her chest. "You're a girl, aren't you?"

Yin Bei nodded, looking fearfully down at the sharp point of the spear.

The red panda stepped back, scowling. "I thought that you were someone else. Don't expect an apology, because you're not getting one!"

As he stomped off, Yin Bei stood shakily to her feet. Bing dusted her off. "Don't worry about Lang. He's tough, arrogant, and antisocial, but he's as old as dirt and is too lazy to deal with the paperwork involved in killing someone."

"W-Who d-did he th-think I was?" Yin Bei stammered out.

"Your father. Lang won't be happy to hear he's dead. They were pretty close a long time ago. Heck, Lang raised Swift. You could probably consider him your grandfather, but he'd probably give you a severe beating if you did."

The female Black Hood sashayed up to them. "I hope you're Black Hoods, since you figured out how to get in here. What are your names?"

"I'm Mr. B." Bing introduced. "This is-"

"Oh! Mr. B!" She exclaimed happily. "I didn't recognize you outside of your costume! It's me, Little Miss!"

"By the gods, Missy! Last time I saw you, you were knee-high to the Vagabond! How have you been?"

Missy removed her hood, revealing herself as a pretty albino fox with pink eyes. "Not so good. We've had a lot of trouble lately. Plus, Faceless was promoted to Grandmaster."

Bing raised an eyebrow. " _That_ whiny little prick? He never even planned one successful heist! What happened to Bandit King?"

"He disappeared." Missy answered sadly. "He was…" She spotted Yin Bei hiding behind Bing. "Oh? Who's this?"

Bing grinned. "Missy, meet the daughter of the Vagabond. She has the Sight, just like he did."

"Oh! She's going to follow in her father's footsteps! No worries. We know how to work around the Sight's downside here. Speaking of him, how is the Vagabond?"

Bing's face fell. "Dead, I'm afraid."

Missy winced. "I'm so sorry. Was it-?"

"It's possible." Bing interrupted before she could finish her sentence. "I'll tell you more later on. For now, we should probably get some Shrouds on and go see the…ugh…Grandmaster."

Missy led them up a spiral staircase to a small storeroom, where she handed them each a set of the signature black robes.

Yin Bei slipped hers on over her clothes. She was slightly confused on how to put the cowl over her ears, but settled for simply letting them hang at the sides of her head.

They went further up the metal stairs, to a long hallway full of identical sliding doors. "He should be in his office. It's the last door on the left." Missy wrapped Bing in a tight hug. "I really missed you. I'm glad you came back. Also…please try not to kill Faceless. He's been under a lot of stress lately. There are a lot of Hoods who won't listen to him."

"I'm not surprised." Bing said as he hugged her back. "He has no idea how to be a leader."

Right on cue, a door slammed open, and an irate Hood stormed out. "I can't believe the nerve of those idiots in the Valley of Peace!" He ranted to nobody in particular. His voice was high and whiny. It really couldn't have been anyone else.

Faceless had an air of nervousness about him. His cowl bobbed as he twitched, and he constantly moved his hands around, playing with the folds of his Shroud, cracking his fingers, and fixing his cowl. He was a couple of inches taller than Bing, but hunched over a little bit, as if he was more accustomed to doing paperwork than commanding subordinates.

When he saw Bing, he visibly flinched. Yin Bei actually found this rather funny. It was like his whole body was trying to run away, but his feet refused to move.

"Um…Hi Mr. B. H-how have you been?" he stammered out.

Bing took pity on the poor guy. He could tell by Faceless' body language that the poor kid was in way over his head. "Hello, Faceless. I've been doing alright. You've grown taller since I last saw you."

Faceless loosed a sigh of relief, then chuckled a little. "Well, I was a preteen last time you saw me. Hi Vagabond! You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you. Did you notice how few Black Hoods are in this place? That's because the Seekers have been killing us off left and right! A new Harbinger of the Seekers has risen to power, and whoever it is has brought them up to be more aggressive than ever!"

Beneath the hood, Bing's eyes widened. "But I've been in contact with a group of Black Hoods for months now! I haven't heard a word about this!"

Faceless shook his head sadly. "That's a pretty common trick for the Seekers to use. Let me guess- they led you straight into an ambush, didn't they?"

Bei was getting confused. "Um…Excuse me…" She interrupted. "Um…Who are the Seekers?"

Faceless' head swiveled towards her in what she assumed was shock. Bei shivered. Like the Black Hoods from before, he didn't seem to trigger the Haze, but she was still uncomfortable being stared at.

"You're not the Vagabond." Faceless said at last. He turned to Bing. "She's not the Vagabond. You joined up with the Seekers, didn't you!? I _knew_ you were a traitor!"

Bing stepped uncomfortably close to Faceless. "I am _not_ a traitor. If you accuse me of something like that again, you will suffer a fate worse than death. Do I make myself clear?"

Credit had to be given to Faceless for having at least some survival instinct. He backed down almost immediately. "Sorry! Sorry! I've been constantly on my guard for so long it's hard to bring it down. So, who is this and where is the real Vagabond?"

"The real Vagabond is dead." Missy replied for them. "This is his daughter."

"She has the Sight, just like he did." Bing finished. "She needs training desperately."

He told the full story of what had happened to Swift Hare.

Missy put her face in her paws, giving a quiet sob.

Faceless' shoulders sagged, and he slumped against the wall. He removed his cowl, revealing himself as a tired-looking elk seemingly in his late thirties, with short, flat stumps in place of his antlers. He rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't know how much more of this I can take." He sighed. Then he did something surprising. He stood straight and gave Bing a hard look.

"Mr. B, I'll be fully forthright here; the Black Hoods are pretty much gone right now. The only agents we have are in the Temple or on the ghost ships. The rest are either dead, captured, or scattered to the four winds and refusing to listen to me. If that story you told me is true, then Yang Chao is the new Harbinger. This is huge but, as you well know, I'm no Grandmaster, nor am I a tactician. I'm good at crunching numbers. If you two are going to stick around, then you have to pull your weight. I am the only one here who has the Sight and knows how to use it. I need you, and you need me."

"Um…" Yin Bei struggled to find words. "Y-you still h-haven't told me what the Seekers are."

Faceless closed his eyes, speaking without looking at her. "The Seekers, in short, are a group intent on summoning and controlling ancient powers from beyond this world. That's the short version. If you want the long one, you have to earn it. In order to do that, you have to fully join the Black Hoods."

Yin Bei took a deep breath. "Alright." She decided. "If it helps me stop Yang Chao, then I'll do it. T-tell me about the Seekers."

Bing shook his head. "It isn't that simple. You're not considered a full Black Hood until you complete training. It's to prove that you are committed enough that you won't switch sides on us just to gain power with them."

"Of course, by the time you're done with training, the Seekers will hate you so much that they won't take you." Missy added with a smile.

Bei shrugged. "That's what I'm here for, isn't it? Training."

Faceless chuckled. "I like you already."

* * *

They called it the Prison of Gods.

Master Blazing Rooster looked down into the dark abyss. This place had been constructed specifically for the remaining members of the Birds of Prey. He knew that the wardens of this place would lock him up without a second thought if they knew he was there.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Rooster jumped down into the darkness.

 **End of Chapter 9**

 **This chapter got insanely long, like 3,000+ words. I had to cut certain parts out and put them in future chapters. I wanted to say something else, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Oh well.**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	10. Chapter 10

**All standard disclaimers apply.**

 **Chapter 10 part 1-The Truth Revealed**

Yin Bei lie on her back in a field of multicolored flowers. Never before had she felt so tranquil. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the air was laced with the fragrance of the flowers.

Bei sighed contently. She had no idea how she'd gotten here, but she didn't care. So long as she could relax a little longer.

Suddenly, the sun was eclipsed by a figure looming over her, holding a bucket. Bei squinted up at the newcomer, warily. "Who are you? What's in the bucket?"

She soon found out exactly what was in the bucket, as the newcomer threw it all over her.

* * *

Cold water splashed over Yin Bei. She sputtered awake, hyperventilating in panic. She was in the fairly spacious, albeit plainly decorated bedroom she'd been given in the Temple of Mist.

Missy stood over the hare's bed, cowl pulled over her face. "Wakey wakey. Time for training." The smile in her voice was obvious.

Bei glared at her, trying to get her heartbeat back under control. "Why did you do that?" The soaked hare complained miserably. "That was the first good dream I've had in years!"

Missy nodded, setting the bucket down. "Makes sense. People with the Sight always feel safe here. I know Faceless says he barely slept a day until the Bandit King took him in." She threw another bucket of ice-cold water on Bei.

Bei gasped and coughed. "I'm awake! Why did you throw another bucket on me?"

"I filled up two, and I didn't want to waste good water. Now get up and get dried off. We have the training exercise already set up."

Yin Bei shivered. "I ought to beat you senseless." She threatened through chattering teeth.

Missy laughed. "Kid, you look like a half melted snowball. I'm not scared of you. Besides, that's how Bing woke me up every day for years. So you have no reason to complain."

Yin Bei tilted her head. "Snowball? What are you-?" She looked at her forearm. Sure enough, her fur had begun to change back to white without her even realizing it. She'd always changed color more rapidly than her mother or father, possibly because her summer coat was such a pale shade of brown that much less change was needed.

Missy tossed her a towel. "The ladies' bath hall is downstairs. It's the one with the Yin sign on it. The one with the Yang sign is for the guys. Bathe, then meet the rest of us in the main hall."

* * *

After being forcibly soaked in cold water, the hot bath felt like a gift from heaven. Yin Bei emerged feeling refreshed, finding a Shroud already laid out for her. As she put the outfit on, she marveled at how oddly comfortable it was. This one was different in design from the ones she'd seen the others wearing. The ones the others wore had long robes that made them look like priests, but this one was designed to resemble a nondescript hooded cloak that any traveler might wear. Several very subtle differences stood out, though. The cape hung from her right shoulder to her hand, covering any small weapons she may want to conceal. The torso was protected by a band of lightweight metal, painted black to conceal it. The hood hung a little lower than normal, hiding her face without obstructing her vision. Instead of sandals, the Shroud included a pair of knee-high cotton boots, with rubber on the soles to protect her from hazards such as nails in the floor. It was peculiar, she noticed, that it seemed to fit her perfectly.

There was a full-length mirror located in the bathhouse that Yin Bei couldn't help looking in. Even with her rather diminutive height, she did cut a rather impressive figure. Her eyes were actually accentuated by the hood, as the only splash of color among the shadow. Yin Bei had always been a bit embarrassed when someone suddenly walked up and commented that she had beautiful eyes. They were the same blue-green as ocean water. Her mother's eyes had been the same color.

"You wear it pretty well."

Bei jumped, startled at the voice from behind her. She whirled around to see Missy behind her, wearing a similar Shroud, but with the hood down. She also wore an apologetic smile. "That Shroud used to belong to your father when he was your age. I got your measurements from Bing and altered it for you last night. I figured it would make a nice gift after…y'know, getting soaked. Heh heh. Shrouds like that are worn by the Order of the Owl. A little sect of Hoods who are…kind of like our Black Ops agents. Speaking of which, Bing sent you a little gift."

Missy removed the "gift" from her robe and passed it to Yin Bei. It was a black steel gauntlet. On top it had a small protruding knob that had several long, leaf-shaped pieces of metal attached to it.

Curious, Bei put it on. The gauntlet fit perfectly, just like the Shroud. The leaf pieces stretched from just below her wrist to slightly past her elbow.

"Twist the knob, then push it down." Missy advised with a knowing smile.

Bei turned the knob. To her shock, the leaf pieces rotated, forming a complete circle. When she pushed down, there was a small _*clank!*_ and they all moved down, becoming a shallow bowl shape. She now had a black steel shield that covered her entire arm from shoulder to fingertips.

"We call it a Flicker Gauntlet." Missy explained. "In fist mode, you get a good amount of stopping power that's easy to conceal under your shoulder cloak. In shield mode, you get a big boost to your defensive capabilities, plus an effective blunt weapon. Also, if you're in fist mode you can turn the knob the other way to turn one of the shield pieces into a short curved blade. That one should mainly be used as a last resort. Just push the knob while in blade or shield mode to return to fist mode. Your father used to use one of these babies, although no one really knows what happened to the one he used. Rumor has it he had his made with some special features."

Bei pushed the knob, and the shield separated back into pieces and twisted back into fist mode. She looked down at the gifts Missy had given her, and memories of her father flooded into her mind; The time she'd fallen and sprained her ankle while they were out running when she was four, and he'd carried her all the way home, whispering to her how brave she was for not crying while her mother had bandaged her up. The young hare's eyes grew misty, and she rushed up to hug the white fox.

Missy was physically knocked back by the force of the hug. Yin Bei was a lot stronger than she looked! She awkwardly patted the smaller girl's back. "Uh… Bei, you're kinda breaking my ribs."

Bei released her with a sheepish smile, wiping her tears away. "Sorry. I just…got emotional. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Missy patted her shoulder, staying out of range of another hug. "No problem, kid. We can talk more later on, if you want, but you may want to go find Faceless before he has a meltdown waiting for you."

Bei gasped. "Oh my gosh! You're right! I got distracted! I'll see you later!"

Missy waved as Bei departed, leaving so fast she nearly left a dust cloud behind her. "Damn, she's an eager one…" She muttered to herself.

* * *

Yin Bei had expected Bing to be waiting for her alongside Faceless, but when she entered the main hall the rat was nowhere to be found. Instead, Faceless paced around like a caged feral tiger. The antlerless elk had the same look on his face that someone who had just been forced to drink sour milk would have. "It's about time you got here." He said in an annoyed tone. "I've been waiting for nearly an hour."

Yin Bei figured that complaining about her rude awakening would get her nowhere, so she decided against bringing it up. "I'm sorry." She said with a small bow of respect. He was her teacher now, after all. "Missy gave me some gifts, and I had a bit of an emotional reaction."

"Well it took you long enough to do it." He admonished, eyeing the Flicker Gauntlet on her right hand. "Oh, well. At least you're here now. Come on. Follow me."

"Where's Bing?" She asked worriedly. Hadn't he said he would be overseeing her training?

"Busy." Faceless replied. "He and Lang had to go into town. They'll be back later."

Yin Bei followed eagerly as he led her up a staircase that she hadn't noticed the previous day. It was a long spiral that seemed to never end, with so little space that even Bei began to feel cramped. Up ahead, Faceless was forced to shimmy along with his back against the wall, but he did so without complaint. _'That must be a first.'_ Bei thought to herself.

The space grew ever narrower. Bei began to panic that they were going to become stuck.

Just as Bei was sure that they would be unable to go any farther, the space opened up.

Yin Bei's eyes grew wide as saucers. How could they have possibly hidden this place in the side of a cliff!?

The room that they had entered was a humungous cavern. The ceiling stretched up into darkness. In the room were nine iron doors, each flanked by two torches which provided the only light in the room. On each of the doors was one of three symbols embossed in the metal; the ones on the far left were marked with an eye, a hand, and a slyly smiling mouth. The pattern repeated in the center and on the right.

"Welcome to the Cavern of Trials." Faceless told her. "This is where those amongst us with gifts once came to realize their full potential. Gaze upon the doors and yadda yadda yadda. This is where we used to come to have the full extent of our powers activated. Right now we only have one key for each of them. The rest of them were either stolen by Black Hoods who refuse to work with me as Grandmaster or lost a long time ago."

"Powers?" Yin Bei echoed with a curious tilt of her head.

Faceless nodded. "Certain people are born with special abilities. These abilities are…well, I can't tell you that just yet. Soon, though."

"What are the powers?" Bei asked.

"Eyes like you and me have powers involving our senses. Mouths have powers that involve the mind, and Hands have powers involving their bodies. I can't tell you more at the moment. It would take too long."

He produced said key from a pocket in the lining of his cape, and unlocked the eye door on the far left, which swung open with a loud creak. "Go on in." He ordered. "I'll be out here."

"I thought that you were going to train me." Yin Bei said with no small amount of confusion.

"I will. But you have to complete the Trials before I'm allowed to. Just go inside and complete the tasks that await you within."

"What are the trials?" Bei asked as she looked down the dark hallway with trepidation.

Faceless shrugged. "They're different for each person. The Owl will guide you along. Now go. The sooner you get this done, the sooner we can get down to business."

Swallowing nervously, Yin Bei stepped into the shadowy corridor. _'What have I gotten myself into?'_

* * *

Yin Bei walked blindly through the dark. Eventually, as if by magic, two torches lit up, revealing the surrounding area.

Yin Bei yelped and skidded to a stop, gawking at the gaping pit she had nearly fallen into. It stretched down so far that Bei could not see the bottom. From far down below, she could hear the sound of water.

Bei looked around. There didn't seem to be any handholds on the walls, but there was an odd stone fountain with a small statue of an owl. Yin Bei recalled what Faceless had said; _"The Owl will guide you along."_

Bei examined the fountain. There didn't seem to be any hidden switches or buttons. Just a small pool of water at the owl's feet.

Yin Bei tried a different tack. She did what Bing had told her to do earlier, when they had been at the entrance to the Temple. She closed her eyes. _'Pull your gaze back. Let yourself see what really is.'_ She commanded herself.

When she opened her eyes, something had changed. A glowing blue word was written on the wall above the fountain; _drink._

Curious, Bei took her hood off to free her ears. With one of them she scooped up some water and brought it to her lips.

The water tasted odd, and seemed to crackle with energy as she swallowed.

Yin Bei's face went numb, and white light filled her vision. _"Thine potential hath now been awakened."_ Spoke a deep, seemingly male voice. _"Thou canst now see the unseen. Thine Sight shall show the way forward."_

Bei shook her head vigorously, clearing away the numb feeling and returning her vision to normal. "What was THAT?" She exclaimed.

She shook her head again, in sheer bewilderment.

Once Bei had recovered from her shock, she returned her attention to the pit. The voice had said that her Sight would show the way forward. Maybe it had been upgraded somehow.

Bei once again activated the Sight. This time, her jaw dropped. There was an obvious rope bridge across the pit. Like the symbol for _drink,_ it was also glowing blue.

 _"The Sight enables thou to use all of thine senses; To see sounds, hear shapes, and feel the fabric of the world around thee."_

Yin Bei cautiously put her foot out to test the bridge. It felt solid enough, so she rushed across it, wanting to spend as little time on it as possible. Bei turned as she crossed, deactivating the Sight. The bridge had vanished.

Yin Bei turned around, deciding better than to try and figure out how that had happened.

* * *

The next room was very familiar to Yin Bei. It was rather small and humble, completely made of logs and rather sparsely decorated.

It was also filled to the brim with armed bandits.

Yin Bei's heart raced. This was the night that her parents had died! How was this possible?

Bei activated the Sight. She could now easily see her mother's body on the floor through the crowd of bandits, as well as her father being held in the hippo's hand, and her own younger self in the grasp of E Jile. She could see all of the leaders in the crowd.

"This can't be…" Bei whispered in awe.

 _"Here thine will shall be tested."_ Spoke the same deep voice from before. _"Keep the past as it was, or sacrifice thine own self to change it? The choice belongs to thee."_

Bei only had a moment to ponder what this meant, as at that moment the memory reached the point where her father threw the hippo, and her younger self dashed out the door.

The room broke out into chaos as the bandits tried desperately to subdue Swift Hare, and Bei found herself jostled and pushed to the edge of the crowd near the front door. A boar slammed into the wall next to her like he'd been shot from a catapult.

Bei saw the Priestess and the bat with the odd gadgets running after her. She remembered losing them when she went into the woods.

Then she saw three wolves break off from the fight and lope on all fours after them.

Bei gasped. She'd never seen them chasing her! With their keen noses, those wolves would be more than capable of tracking her younger self through the woods!

Out of the corner of her eye, Bei saw Yang Chao shoving his way through the crowd. Swift Hare was busy with the bandits. He'd never see Yang Chao coming.

Bei covered her mouth to stifle another gasp as she realized just what the voice had meant; she could either save her father and let her younger self be caught by the wolves, or she could go save herself and let her father die.

 _"Thou hast ten seconds before thine father perishes, or before the wolves reach the forest. Thou must choose."_

Bei bit her fist, eyes darting rapidly between her father and the door. This was the chance she'd been waiting for. Ever since this terrible night she'd wished more than anything that she had been strong enough to do something other than run. Now she had the opportunity. She could fight Yang Chao. She could give her father the chance to escape. But at the same time, she would be dooming herself. Not only would her younger self be torn apart by the wolves, but Yang Chao would likely kill her.

 _"If Bing couldn't stop me,"_ Yang Chao's voice echoed in her mind. _"-what on Earth made you think you could?"_ Indeed, even the great Master Swift Hare had been unable to defeat Yang Chao. Even if she managed to slow him down, there would be nothing stopping him from killing Swift Hare afterwards.

Painfully wrenching her gaze away from her father, Yin Bei made her choice. She sprinted out the front door.

* * *

The moment she crossed the threshold, she found herself instantly out in the woods instead of out on the front porch.

The three wolves circled around her. These were not ordinary bandits. They had a strange, blank expression on their faces. Each wore clothes made out of what looked like the pelts of various other animals. They were identical in every way, save for their weapons of choice. One wielded a heavy morning star, another wielded a long bo staff, and the third wielded long twin daggers.

Yin Bei held her ground, gritting her teeth. She had just been forced to once again abandon her father, and all of the grief, shame, anger, and despair from that night had returned tenfold, just like when she'd fought E Jile. Now, she had three convenient targets to vent on. She twisted the knob on the Flicker Gauntlet, putting it into shield mode.

As the wolves charged her, Bei somehow _knew_ how they were going to attack. She kicked Daggers in the knee, then plowed the shield into his face. She whirled and smashed Staff in the back of the head with the rim of the shield, then pivoted and roundhouse kicked Morningstar into next week.

Daggers stabbed at her, but Bei parried with her shield and drove her elbow into his groin. As he doubled over, she Flicked into fist mode and delivered a punishing uppercut to his jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Staff still had that odd, blank look on his face. He didn't look afraid despite the fact that his friends had just gone down. He approached her slowly, cautiously, holding his staff in a defensive position.

Bei used the Sight to analyze his stance, and immediately saw a way past it. She Flicked into shield mode and chopped his staff with the edge, snapping it in half. Then she swung her left foot around and heel kicked him in the face.

Yin Bei smiled triumphantly at her fallen foes. She hawked up and spat on Daggers. "Chumps." She said with a chuckle.

She looked around the snowy forest. The fight hadn't taken long. If she was quick enough in figuring out where she was, she might be able to get back and save her father.

Finally deciding on a direction, she started to break into a run.

Sadly, as she ran, the world around her changed.

"No!" Bei screamed.

The woods around her house had vanished. She now stood on a high plateau. The sky was a dark, bruised shade of purple. No stars were visible, nor was the moon. Dust filled the air.

Yin Bei collapsed to her knees, openly sobbing. She'd failed again! What on Earth was going on here?

" _Do not cry, dearest."_

Bei looked up in surprise. That was the voice that had been guiding her.

It belonged to a large gray owl. He looked fairly ordinary, save for the fact that he was twenty feet tall with a forty foot wingspan, and had glowing yellow eyes. He landed on the ground with almost no sound.

"Are you the Owl?" Bei asked. It may have been a stupid question, but she was too shell-shocked to say anything else.

" _That is what Thine mortal brethren call me. Mine true name in unpronounceable in thine mortal tongue."_

Bei took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Did…did you stop me from saving my father?"

The Owl shook his head. " _That was merely an illusion. A test. Had you attempted to pursue change in the past, you would have failed. As it was, you passed fantastically."_

"Why, though? Why put me through that?"

" _Because, dearest, there is more to thine destiny than you know."_

"What do you mean?"

" _Dearest, that would take a very long time to explain fully. What do you believe I am?"_

Bei hesitated. "Um…are you a god?"

The Owl seemed to smile. _"Of a kind. I am of a race that you mortals consider gods. But there is a war amongst us."_

"A war? Why?"

" _Because as much as we hate to deny it, we are not perfect. Those who wholly refuse to admit it believe that we should rule the mortal world. They call themselves the Great Ones. Those of us who still see the truth, that we are not true gods, and that we have no place in the mortal world, stand in their path. We label ourselves the Lonesome Ones, to signify that we refuse to associate with them."_

"But...isn't that what gods are supposed to do? Rule the world?"

The Owl shook his head sternly. _"No. And if you wish to see the reason why, look down on the land below."_

Bei obeyed. She had to squint to see through the dust, but when she saw through it, she gasped in horror.

Down below were millions of mutilated corpses. They were stacked in piles, with no trace of dignity. It was impossible to tell what species they were because they were so disfigured. It looked like they had all been crushed to death, then burned.

" _This world once thrived, until the Great Ones came through. The mortals here tried to fight, but were destroyed. We were forced to flee. Now the Great Ones have their sights set on another world. That is thine world, Yin Bei. The Seekers are searching for a way to bring the Great Ones out of the Immortal Plane and into your mortal one. If they succeed, it will be the end of all life as you know it. We cannot save you, as the ancient laws prevent us from attacking our brethren. Luckily, they have very little power in any of the Mortal Planes until they are let in, and no way ever works twice. We work through mortals as best as we can, granting the Lonesome Gifts to those who are worthy. But we can only do so much while still following the ancient laws. The Great Ones have no such limits. They work through Contracts; old magic that can transcend the barriers between worlds. These Contracts are vile, forbidden magic, but they give the Seekers far more power than we are able to give."_

"So the Black Hoods are like your version of the Seekers?"

" _In a way, yes. But still different. The Seekers are servants. They have been promised power in exchange for their loyalty. We see The Black Hoods as our fellow soldiers. Our equals."_

"Did my father know about all of this?" Yin Bei asked, her voice shaky.

" _He did."_

Yin Bei gulped, wiping her eyes. "What do you want me to do?" She said in a small, unsure voice.

" _Thou art destined to protect this world. Your brother is the opposite. His fate is darker. You must stop him. Somehow, he plans on opening a gate into your world. We don't know why or how. Even to our eyes, Yang Chao is an enigma. He uses such a powerful Contract that we cannot even see his or his compatriots' current location. If we could, they would be dead already."_

Yin Bei's resolve hardened. "If it gets me to Yang Chao, I'll do anything."

" _Excellent, dearest! Now, wake up!"_

* * *

Bei gasped awake. She looked around wildly. She was in a small stone cell, with an iron door and no furniture. There was no tunnel, as there had been when she entered. Had it all been a dream?

Yin Bei climbed to her feet and immediately fell back down, her head spinning. The door opened, and Faceless stepped in to help her. "Looks like you passed, otherwise you would have just disappeared."

Bei leaned against him, allowing the dizziness to fade. "Was that…all real?"

Faceless nodded. "We are in the middle of a war among beings that are more than mortal. It's been going on for a few hundred years. Personally, I don't see it ending any time soon. Come on. Everyone is a complete wreck after their first time through. I'll take you to your room, so you can rest."

"How long was I in there?" Bei asked tiredly. It had only felt like an hour or so.

"About twelve hours. I was starting to get tired of waiting.

Yin Bei shook her head, too tired to even be surprised.

* * *

 **Surprise! I'm not dead!**

 **Just to be clear, this isn't a reference or bash against any type of religion. It's just a story that's meant to entertain.**

 **Anyway, sorry this took so long to get out. This was a very difficult chapter to write. I wanted to prevent as much confusion with the introduction of this backstory as I could. Hopefully I succeeded.**

 **I wonder if any of you caught the little bit of foreshadowing I hid in this chapter?**

 **Anyway, follow, favorite, and review to feed my hungry ego. Next chapter will center on Rooster.**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**All standard disclaimers apply.**

 **Chapter 10 part 2-The Watcher/The Nodes**

 **Things get a bit dark in this one. You've been warned.**

The descent into the Prison of Gods took several minutes. The deep abyss was the only way in. The walls were smooth stone, with no possible hand or footholds.

Rooster calmly meditated as he fell. Just before he reached the ground, he gave a mighty flap of his short wings, sending a powerful gust of wind straight down to soften his fall. Rooster may not have been able to fly, but his mastery of wind was top-notch.

Rooster landed lightly on his feet, opening his eyes to scan his surroundings. It was completely dark, and he couldn't see more than an inch in front of his face. That was normal, but something felt…off. There was something wrong here. One of his wings fell to the handle of the long, curved falchion at his side.

Rooster raised his other wing and concentrated. There was a brief spark, and a small flame formed at the tip of one of the feathers. He smiled. It had been a long time since he'd had cause to summon fire. He was glad to see that he still could.

The fire cast just enough light for Rooster to be able to pierce the darkness for a few feet. He could see the long, twisting pathway with deep pits full of stone spikes on either side. As he walked, he noticed a strange stain on one of the spikes. He knelt to examine it. _'Dried blood. Someone has been down here. The blood is fresh. They were here recently.'_

This was worrisome. Even with wings it was difficult to get down here, and very few people knew where the entrance was. Looking closer, Rooster saw a multitude of scuffmarks on the stone, the kind that would be made when many armored boots walked through. _'Whoever was down here came with a large force. How did they get down here?'_

Rooster stood. He needed to be careful.

As he passed the twisting pathway, Rooster came to a large circular cellblock. What he saw there caused him to gasp.

All of the cells were open. The bodies of their avian occupants were strewn about, intermingled with the bodies of the prison guards; giant green reptilian beasts with razor-sharp teeth and claws, wearing thick steel armor. _'By the gods… What happened here? How on Earth did they kill all of the guards_ and _the Birds of Prey!?'_

Rooster examined the bodies more closely. There wasn't a single wound on any of them. The look of shock on their faces was obvious. _'This is the result of the Death Touch. Either Yang Chao somehow made it down here, or…'_

Rooster's eyes widened. He immediately abandoned his investigation of the bodies and rushed further along the circular corridor.

"Please don't let me be too late!" Rooster prayed.

At the far end of the hall was a massive wall of completely clear material. Rooster knew that the material was diamond. Through the diamond wall was a field of roaring flames. The fire consumed the entire room, and was so fierce that any mortal who found a way to enter would be reduced to smoke and ashes in a matter of seconds. Not that it mattered. The room had been built around its single occupant. There was no way in or out. Or so Rooster hoped.

Rooster peered through the inferno, looking for a sign of the occupant. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw the giant silhouette bound and suspended over the flames.

 _ **"It is good to know that my suffering relieves you, Magister Zhengyi."**_

Rooster winced. It wasn't just the fact that he had just been called by his old name, which he hadn't heard in decades. The Watcher's voice was more than sound. It resonated on a physical level, so full of dark power that it caused pain to anyone who heard it. This place had been named for the Watcher. He may not _technically_ have been an actual god, but he was as close as a mortal could get. The Watcher had so many of the Procedures done on him that he was almost completely invulnerable. In order to keep him captive, he had to be perpetually burned to keep him from regaining his full strength.

The Watcher moved closer, kicking his legs to move himself along a grid in the ceiling that allowed him limited movement around the cell.

As he moved closer, The Watcher's features became more visible. The gargantuan vulture had a ten foot wingspan. His singed feathers continuously regrew, defying the flames. His wrinkled, featherless head was covered in burns that healed as fast as they formed. His cruel, hooked beak smiled, despite his torture.

 _ **"How long has it been, Zhengyi?"**_ The Watcher asked. _**"How long has it been since you and the Roman betrayed your brothers?"**_

"That is not my name anymore." Rooster informed. "And it has been just over forty-five years since Viccori the Crow and I saved the world from the monsters that the Birds of Prey had become."

 _ **"Treason is treason, no matter the reason."**_ The Watcher admonished. _**"The blood of your brothers is on your wings. I looked into the intruders' minds when they came into my domain. They knew that you would come here. They wanted to send a message to YOU! IT IS YOUR FAULT THAT YOUR BRETHREN ARE DEAD! AT THE AVIARY, THE TEST SUBJECTS THAT DEVOURED THEIR FLESH WERE RELEASED DUE TO YOUR PLAN! AND NOW IT IS YOU WHO HAS BROUGHT THIS VILLAIN HERE! YOU ARE AN UNDERTAKER!"**_

The Watcher opened his mouth and spat a wave of black flames at Rooster, which dissipated upon contact with the diamond window.

"The hell that they found was of their own making." Rooster said simply. "You know better than anyone that I don't lie. I can't. I had no choice but to destroy the monster that I helped to create. Now, you can help us get revenge on the person that did this."

The Watcher took several deep, ragged, angry breaths, trying to regain his composure. _**"They left a note next to the window."**_ He spat at last. _**"I do not know what it says."**_

Rooster glanced over. There was a small piece of paper pinned into the stone with a bloodied dagger. On it was a crude drawing of a smiling hare's face with his tongue sticking out comically. Beneath it were the words, _"Hey Big Roost! I figured that Sweet Lil' Sis probably freaked out on you when you told her that this whole thing is pretty much your fault, and you're probably pretty upset, so I left you some presents to make you feel better. I hope you like them! Yours truly, (Get it? Cause you can probably tell that I'm mocking you, and that what I'm saying clearly isn't remotely true?) Yang Chao."_

Rooster formed a pulse of fire, burning the note to ash in less than a second.

 _ **"I must assume you came to me because your adversary utilizes the Death Touch."**_ Said the Watcher.

Rooster nodded. "His name is-"

 _ **"Yang Chao. I know. I could not read his mind. He, like you, was too disciplined in his thoughts for me to break his mental guard. But I overheard him talking to himself. He spoke of leaving a 'surprise', in addition to the massacre."**_

A long, low growl came from the darkness, followed by heavy, thudding footsteps.

Rooster sighed. Of course. Because when had anything ever ended that simply?

The Warden had a deep wound in its side. The blood on the spike in the entryway must have been from it. The large creature greatly resembled a crocodile, but with the spiky frills and short, horned snout of an ordinary lizard. It carried no weapons, other than its claws and teeth. When it saw Rooster, the Warden hissed viciously.

Rooster's falchion leapt into his right wing. Rooster concentrated and, all of a sudden, both the sword and his natural wing were surrounded by the fiery, translucent wing of a phoenix. Rooster had practiced a technique known as Phoenix Wing since his youth. It involved utilizing one's chi to energize the air, creating smoke and fire. It was the inspiration behind his name; Blazing Rooster. This creature would burn to ashes before it could blink.

Rooster shook his head. _'No. I can't leave the prison entirely unprotected. I must leave it alive.'_

As the Warden charged, Rooster met it head-on. He dodged its slashing claws easily, swinging his fire wing, Rooster sent a cloud of noxious smoke into the reptile's face. The creature flinched, coughing and hacking as it waved one of its hands in a futile attempt to clear the smoke. Rooster jumped up, grabbing it by the shoulders with his foot claws and flipping it up to slam it into the ground. He quickly unleashed a final cloud of smoke into the Warden's face. After a few more weak coughs, the reptilian warrior passed out from smoke inhalation.

 _ **"That was anticlimactic."**_ The Watcher noted.

"I don't have time to entertain you right now." Rooster snapped, sheathing his sword. At this, Rooster's own eyes widened. There had been no severe coughing fit or headache when he'd said that, meaning it was completely true and not exaggerated in any way. It meant that he really didn't have time. "Quickly. I need you to tell me what this is." He produced the Vulture necklace from within his robe.

The Watcher had been about to retort with a 'Why should I?', but the second he saw the necklace, his beak dropped open in shock. _**"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!?"**_ He bellowed.

Rooster flinched at the sheer force of the shriek. Even through the diamond window the Watcher's voice was destructive. "It was left behind by the very same person responsible for this massacre. A user of the Death Touch."

The Watcher paused. Rooster could read his intent. On one wing, He hated Rooster with a passion, and did not want to help him. On the other wing, he clearly knew that there was something dangerous about the Vulture Necklace.

The latter reason won out. _**"I know what it is, but I do not know everything about it."**_ He admitted with a resigned sigh. _**"They were an experimental method of temporarily giving foot soldiers the same powers that we possess. Several were made. Unfortunately, the project was overseen by Magisters Yinyue and Huang. I knew very little of their methods or motivation for making them."**_

"You didn't oversee their work?"

 _ **"Would you have wanted to spend more than a few minutes in the Siblings' company?"**_

Rooster conceded the point. Yinyue the Lark and Huang the Nightingale had an unnerving air about them. Their powers were even stranger. If it was not so inconvenient at the moment, Rooster would have been glad that they had been killed in the Pits. He changed the subject. "So this medallion grants the Death Touch, then?"

 _ **"No. I am not foolish enough to grant that power to a lesser mind that could not control it. As I was told, the Vulture Node, as it is properly called, grants one the ability to view certain memories of anyone who has been killed near it. And, before you ask, no, I don't know how it works. The Nodes were never implemented. You'll have to figure that out for yourself."**_

Rooster looked curiously at the object in his wing. "That is…interesting. What do the others do?"

 _ **"I don't know much. As I said, the Siblings kept most of their experiments in a private laboratory of their own. But I do know a little due to my own eavesdropping. The Crane Node holds the invulnerability power of Magister Kuijia. The Nightingale Node clouds the minds of anyone around the user, making them believe anything that they say."**_

"Like Magister Huang." Rooster noted.

 _ **"Exactly. Moving on, though. The Hawk amulet grants one powerful perceptive abilities, like those of Magister Yan. The Rooster Node-"**_

"Wait! They made one of ME!?"

 _ **"Yes. Now stop interrupting! In any event, it seems they thought that your ability to tell when people are lying was useless to them, so they found a way to replicate your influence over fire with absolutely no training. You already know what the Vulture Node does. The Lark Node I am unsure of. I never witnessed it being tested."**_

"Are there any more?"

 _ **"Not that I know of. Of course, they may have made more without my knowledge. It is a possibility."**_

Rooster took a deep breath. The Watcher was clearly telling the truth. Now came the hard part: Getting him to reveal his weakness.

He selected his words carefully. "Thank you for the information. Now, as you correctly guessed, Yang Chao has found a way to utilize the Death Touch. I MUST know how to defeat him, and you are the only user of it that has been defeated before. I know that I hold much of the blame for the deaths of our brethren, but so does-"

The Watcher began to tremble. _**"Heh heh heh…HA HA HA HA!"**_

Rooster flinched at the sudden explosion of laughter.

 _ **"Oh, Zhengyi. And you said you could not entertain me! Ha ha ha! Do you really expect me to give up my greatest secrets for mere vengeance? The Nodes were one thing. I understood the danger that they presented, but these are secrets I have kept for hundreds of years, since before you were even born. No, my friend. I require greater reward than just that."**_

Rooster scowled. "What do you want?" He had a sinking feeling that he already knew.

 _ **"That is very simple. I want my freedom. I want out of this cell. If you want me to tell you my secrets, then you will let me go."**_

Rooster closed his eyes. Yep. That was what he was worried about. He knew that, if he agreed to the deal, he would be bound to his word. He had tried to break his word before, and it had not ended well. He needed to be careful with his words.

The Watcher stared quietly at Rooster as he thought. And thought. And thought some more.

Finally, Rooster opened his eyes. "Alright. This is my offer; if you tell me how to beat a Death Touch user, then once we beat Yang Chao, I'll come back and cut you loose. That is my only offer."

 _ **"And if I do not accept?"**_

"Then I won't. We'll figure out how to beat him on our own, and you can roast here for the rest of your life."

 _ **"Then you can rot in Hell. No deal. If you think I'm stupid enough to fall for the old 'Poor choice of words' trick, you're dumber than I thought. By the way, good luck with your future endeavors now that you've said you'll do it on your own."**_

Rooster swore loudly, spewing the foulest, most vile words he could think of. He couldn't believe that the Watcher had tricked him. Curse this ridiculous ability! He should never have agreed to undergo the procedure.

 _ **"Goodbye, Rooster. And good luck! Ha ha ha!"**_

Rooster felt the compulsion, the pain in his entire body. He was unable to stop himself from turning and leaving, as the Watcher laughed viciously behind him.

Rooster walked past the massacre, fuming. How was he supposed to explain this to Yin Bei? All he had gotten was how the Nodes worked.

Suddenly, Rooster smiled. The Watcher may have given him far more information than he thought.

Beneath his feet, the bodies of the Wardens started to stir.

Rooster slapped his face with one wing. Of course they had just been unconscious the whole time. Because why not?

Rooster ran as fast as he could across the narrow walkway, summoning a gust of wind to speed him along. As he reached the bottom of the pit, he summoned a mighty vortex, sending him flying up, and out of the Prison of Gods.

* * *

The Warden that Rooster had subdued pushed himself slowly to his feet.

 _ **"Must be humiliating, being beaten senseless by one of the very beings your creator made you to contain."**_

The Warden ignored the Watcher. "He's gone!" He called out into the hall. "You can come out now!"

Yang Chao stepped out of his hiding place, smiling up at the Watcher.

 _ **"You…!"**_

The Warden laughed. "We sure had 'em fooled, didn't we Harbinger?"

"Your performance was excellent! Of course, lots of credit goes to our big feathery chandelier in the fire pit. If he hadn't been stupid enough to turn down Rooster's offer." To the Watcher, he said, "He meant it, you know. He just figured that if he had your weakness he could stop you if you got up to trouble. If you kept your nose…er, beak clean he was just going to leave you alone."

The Watcher's beak dropped. He looked dazedly back and forth between Chao and the Warden. _**"You… how…. Why?!"**_

Yang Chao chuckled. "Fun fact; Viccori didn't make the Wardens as babysitters for you idiots. He set up Contracts to enhance them in just the right ways to fight and kill you. They've been sitting around here in the Dark for way too long. So I was sitting around thinking to myself, 'Y'know Yang Chao, I bet if those guys could find a way out of this hole, they'd be kind of resentful for being abandoned in a hole for forty-five years. Lo and behold, I showed up here and I was right! So in exchange for killing all of your little friends, I get my own little band of omnicidal maniacs! I mean sure, there are only like, thirty of them, but being trained to fight semi-immortals kind of makes up for the numbers. Good thing Rooster was too stupid to check pulses out there."

The other Wardens marched into the room. The reptilian reapers grinned up at the abhorred avian.

 _ **"You cannot do this! I'll get word out to Rooster! I'll tell him your weakness!"**_

At this, Yang Chao actually giggled. "Oh, you're funny! Really it won't even matter if you do. I already know how you got your shit pushed in, and I've got some fail safes in place to stop it. But, I have to play the long game. Did you know that, when Viccori was designing this place, he included a system to keep you from getting out in the event of a prison break? Basically, if any of those doors out there are opened, all the Wardens have to do is speak a code phrase. Your little window will close, and the fire jets in there will turn up to maximum. Intense enough to overcome that healing factor of yours. You'll still be alive, since you're pretty much immortal, but good luck getting out of here as a sentient lump of charcoal. What was that phrase again, Orlo?"

The Warden Rooster had fought mockingly pondered this. " I think it was something along the lines of… _'ad infernum.'_

As the metal shudders closed over the window, the Watcher's screams were muffled.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, tonight's special is overcooked giant vulture," Yang Chao joked.

"Served with a side of his own bullshit." Orlo agreed. "Only one question… how are we going to get out of here?"

As soon as he finished saying that, someone ran into the room. A squat, ugly bat in a strange hat, with two odd devices in sheaths on his belt. "Rope ladders are all set up, _Jefe."_ He announced.

Orlo shot Yang Chao a look. "How did you get ladders long enough to get down here?"

Chao shrugged. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not. C'mon. Let's get out of here before it starts to smell like burning flesh."

As they left, Yang Chao couldn't resist asking, "What's wrong with burning flesh?"

* * *

 **End of chapter 10 part 2**

 **Translations**

 **These are the translations of the Magisters' names that are mentioned in this chapter.**

 **Zhengyi-Justice. Rooster's name when he was a Magister.**

 **Yinyue-Music**

 **Huang-Lies**

 **Kuijia-Armor**

 **Yan-Eye**

 **Other**

 **Ad Infernum-Go to Hell (Latin)**

 **Well, it looks like Rooster may have an idea, despite being outfoxed by the Watcher. We also get to see the names and powers of some of the Magisters. And Yang Chao proved too smart for the Watcher. (Flame roasted vulture, anyone? It's got a nice char on it. )XD I figured that this would be a good place to show Yang Chao's skill at manipulation.**

 **Anyway, I have a couple of announcements to make. Firstly, this is the first milestone that I was waiting for to start Cry of the Wolf, the second story in the Trilogy, which takes place a long time before the other two. It's not the actual prequel. But it will show a lot of what certain characters were like back in the day. So be expecting that soon.**

 **Second, I realized recently that I have some great friends on this site. Mainly due to a certain one of them forgiving me after I was a jerk to him, and another listening to me rant for a while as I calmed down. So there is a list of people I'd like to thank. Including, but not limited to:**

 **Berserker88**

 **Grey Coincidence**

 **Lucky the Meowth**

 **Reidak Tor Pre Vizsla III**

 **Written Eternal**

 **The Assassin of Xion**

 **Benjamin King**

 **I apologize for anyone whose name I forgot to put on the list. Anyway, I recently had a great idea for an MLP horror story. I figured I'd write it as a thank-you present to all the people who are willing to put up with me. XD I'm basing some of the characters on some of the people in the list above. I still have a couple of spots open because I haven't finished asking all of the people who I want to base characters on. If you want one, just send me a PM.**

 **That's all for now.**

 **Oh wait! I almost forgot! Thanks to Berserker88, Silence of the Hare now has A TV TROPES PAGE! It's also on the Kung Fu Panda fanfic rec list for TV Tropes! If you want to take a look at it, look it up! And feel free to add any tropes that were missed! Thanks again to Berserker88 to putting the Trope Page up for me, since I'm not good enough with computers to do it myself.**

 **Okay, I'm really done this time.**

 **Until we meet again,**

 **Mind Jack, OUT!**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Silence of the Hare**_

 _ **All standard disclaimers apply.**_

 _ **Chapter 11- Crash Course**_

In a dim room lit only by a single small lantern, five figures sat around a small table.

The weasel in foreign-style iron armor shifted uncomfortably. "I can't believe that you Chinese sit this way all the time!" He complained.

The bat, who hung upside-down from a perch on a pole, glanced over at him. "Quit yer whinin', Morgan. I'm gitt'n' tired a' hearin' it."

Morgan glared at him. "It's LORD Morgan to you, flying rat! And perhaps if your ears weren't so large-!"

The hippo, Tufu, banged his fist on the table to silence them. "Gentlemen, please! Now is not the time to feud amongst ourselves!"

The Priestess pouted. "Awww! But I wanna feud amongst ourselves!"

Yang Chao chuckled. "Sorry, Myna. He's right. We've got lots of semi-important stuff to discuss."

"Killjoy…" Myna muttered.

"ANYWAY!" Lord Morgan interrupted. "I believe that the death of a member of the Academia Obscura and a fellow Seeker is far more than just 'Semi-important!'

"The deaths of Dong and E Jile have indeed stricken a blow to our finances." Tufu agreed. "Luckily, he was not our only means of shipping our product, but with the absence of a leader among the bandits, we lose a great deal of our revenue from extortion of villages and travelers."

"They also made up a not-insignificant portion of our troops." Morgan put in. "However, we still have more than enough loyal Seekers to continue. When we are done reporting, I have a plan of action I would like to suggest."

Yang Chao nodded. "Good. Herrero, how have negotiations with the Exile been?"

The bat folded his winghands behind his back. "Been goin' alright. The weapons he's been givin' us are better than anythin' the Hoods have thrown at us so far."

"How are your knockoffs coming along?" Myna queried with a cheeky grin.

In answer, one of the devices holstered at Herrero's waist seemed to flash into his winghand, and gave off a loud * _bang!*_. Part of the table in front of the Priestess exploded into fragments. "I call 'em Hand Cannons." Herrero proclaimed proudly. "Exile may be real smart, but I'm smarter. These babies can knock a hole in a chargin' rhino, and they're small enough ya can carry a bunch of 'em on a belt. Haven't figured out a good way to make enough for all of our boys to use 'em, on a regular basis, but some of 'em can bring 'em along. Only takes one good shot. They're lots more powerful than the ones I made a few years ago."

"Interesting…" Yang Chao mused. "Tufu?"

"We have more than enough food for our men." The hippo replied. "However, as I said the lack of E Jile's ship has done a minor blow to my ability to ship my ingredients to my kitchens. This has adversely affected our profits. A replacement would be beneficial to our cause."

Yang Chao rested his head on one fist. "Duly noted. Myna?"

Myna fingered her chin thoughtfully, trying to remember if she'd had anything to say. Her eyes lit up. "Ooh! Hang on a sec!"

The Seekers looked at each other in puzzlement as the red squirrel scampered off on all fours, and came back carrying a scroll in her mouth. She wiped the spittle off of it, and presented it to Yang Chao. "I drew a picture!" She proclaimed proudly.

"How old are you?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"Forty-three!" Myna replied innocently.

Yang Chao unrolled the parchment. "Awww! Look what she drew guys!"

Seeing the content of the drawing, Morgan grimaced, Tufu's face turned green, and Herrero looked like he had just choked on something.

Yang Chao rolled the scroll up and tucked it in his vest. "Anyway, I believe Lord Morgan said that he had a plan to discuss?"

Lord Morgan leaned forward, resting his chin on steepled fingers. For the first time since the meeting started, he smiled. "Yes. Yes I do."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Yang Chao and Myna were back in their soundproofed private quarters. They sat on opposite ends of a game board. The pieces were somewhat unusual; they were shaped like various animals.

Yang Chao moved a piece shaped like a black bear. Myna took a piece shaped like a white female hare and knocked it over. Yang Chao responded by moving a piece shaped like a black weasel to sit between a white baboon and a python.

"Do you think old Snaggletooth's plan is actually going to work?" Myna asked.

Yang Chao chuckled. "Probably not."

"Do you think the Hoods will take the bait?"

Now Yang Chao actually frowned. He rubbed his temples, trying to get rid of a sudden headache. "I don't know. I'm fairly sure that they will for a while. We need something to keep them on the hook. His plan is a good distraction, but it's not big enough. We need to make all of the Black Hoods mad, not just little Beibei. We need them to be distracted until we make more progress on finding the Roman."

"Hmm…" Myna pondered. "Oh! I have an idea!"

Yang Chao watched as the squirrel shuffled pieces around on the bored. When he saw what she was suggesting, his frown turned upside down. "Oh, Myna! You beautiful genius! I never even _thought_ of bringing them in this early in the plan!"

Myna blushed cutely. "I try."

"Get over here, you!"

He kissed her deeply. He picked her up and set her on the table, nibbling lovingly at her neck.

Myna responded eagerly. She stripped him of his vest and untied his kerchief from around his neck.

 _*Knock! Knock! Knock!*_

They ceased their affections. Myna growled angrily. Yang Chao smiled and set her down, moving to get the door.

The little rabbit jumped back as the door suddenly slammed open. "I b-brought your dinner, sir!" he stammered.

Yang Chao took the platter from him. Before he could send him away, Myna jumped out and pulled the screaming servant's head into the doorway. She started slamming the door on the poor guy's head, and the screams stopped. "Do! Not! Inter! Rupt! My! Chaoie! Time!" She screeched, slamming the door once with each syllable.

Yang Chao reached out to stop her. "Myna-"

She whipped around. "WHAT?!"

"He's dead. At this rate, you're just making wine."

Myna looked down at the mashed mammal laying on the floor. "Oh. Uh…should we get someone to clean this up?"

Yang Chao scooped her up in his arms, carrying her bridal-style inside and kicking the door shut behind them. "Nope. Maybe later." He said with a grin.

* * *

Yin Bei awoke, and immediately tried to fall back asleep. She felt comfortable and safe, just as she had when she woke up before. Just a few more minutes would do. Hopefully Little Miss wouldn't wake her up like she had before. She even faked a loud snore.

This thought brought a little bit of panic into Bei's calm. She didn't want to wind up soaked in ice water again. Maybe she should get up. But the bed in her room was just so comfortable! The room itself was a little small, but it was far cozier than the little mat she had in her room at home. There was even a little potted lotus flower that Missy had given her on the small wooden table beside it.

Something tickled Bei's nose, causing it to wiggle. The tickly thing met her nose again. Yin Bei's nose twitched again, and she swatted at the offending object. The tickly thing retreated, and there was a small hiss. Was there some kind of bug on her nose?

The tickly thing returned with a vengeance. This time it carried with it the strong smell of flowers. Bei's nose wiggled and wrinkled up. "Achoo!" She sneezed, bringing her fully awake.

Missy laughed, holding her fluffy white tail inches away from Bei's face. Instead of her Shroud, she wore a black, sleeveless shirt, black pants, and sandals. "Oh my shadows! That was the daintiest little sneeze I have ever heard! I knew you were awake when the volume of your snoring went down, though."

Bei pulled her ears down to cover her face in sheer embarrassment. "Putting perfume on your tail was a dirty trick!"

Missy smirked. "How did you know it was perfume? Your eyes were closed."

"There was a hiss when you sprayed it on." Bei replied. She pointed to her large ears.

Missy held up the bottle of perfume. It was a pour bottle, not a spray bottle. "Close. What happened was the Sight noticed the fumes coming off of the perfume, and since your eyes were closed, it translated it to your ears as a hiss. The Sight put the clues together, and came up with perfume."

Bei was taken aback. "How do you know that?"

"I may not have the Sight myself, but I grew up around people who did. I was very curious when I was young, and liked to pester our Eyes on how they knew what they did. Luckily, I was cute, so they humored me."

Yin Bei stifled a giggle. "So, um…how long was I asleep?"

"You slept for a full day and night. All new initiates sleep that long. Your mind needed time to recover after entering the Eldritch Realm for the first time."

Bei's brow furrowed. "The Eldritch Realm?"

Missy nodded. "The chambers are built to allow anyone who enters to reach the fringes of the Eldritch Realm, where the Great and Lonesome Ones reside. I don't know how they build them to do it, but some property of that world strengthens our natural Lonesome Gifts somehow. But enough about that! Today is your big day. Get up and get dressed."

"My big day? What do you mean?"

Missy grinned. "Today's the day you'll officially be accepted into the Black Hoods. If you decide to join the Order of the Owl, like your father did, you'll also receive your initiation mission. I didn't get the chance to ask you last night, but would you be interested in joining the Order? You've already worn most of the uniform, and held one of our weapons of choice."

Yin Bei pondered this. "What would you need me to do?"

"Spying mostly, maybe some scouting. You're just a trainee, so you wouldn't be sent on anything too dangerous, like an assassination or an infiltration of an enemy stronghold. Bing brought me up to speed on how you wanted to hunt down the Seekers who killed your father. Becoming an Owl is your best bet to do that. If your mentor was put on a mission to eliminate one of them, they would be able to take you with them. As an ordinary Black Hood you would be trained as a thief. As an Owl you would be trained as a warrior, and a predator. You would hunt your foes and bring them to their knees." Missy took a deep breath, winded from the long explanation. "That is the explanation that my mentor gave me."

Yin Bei pondered her options. Was she ready for a commitment like this? "Um…Do you mind if I think about it for a little while?"

Missy nodded. "By all means. When you've made up your mind, come out to the great hall. It's the large central room that you found Faceless and I in when you arrived. Wear the Shroud of the Owl if you decide to join us, or the normal one if you decide not to. I will be waiting out there."

She left, leaving Bei with her thoughts.

All of this was still so surreal to Bei. Her father, some kind of Black Ops agent for a secret society that fought evil beings from other dimensions? Her having super-powered perception? Yin Bei had no idea how to feel about all of this. She hadn't heard the term 'shock', but that was exactly what she was going through. To be honest, now that all of this had happened, she was seriously doubting her decision to join the Black Hoods.

Bei shook her head to clear that thought. No. It was too late to go back, and they probably wouldn't let her if she tried. Besides, they were her only chance of getting to Yang Chao. At the end of the day, Bei didn't care what cause she had to work for. She had dedicated her life to the pursuit of revenge, and she would do anything that helped her accomplish that goal. Except talking to strangers. Or going out in public. Or doing anything in public, for that matter.

That was another factor. Even though she didn't know these people, they were the first people outside of her little adopted family that she had been able to speak to. Maybe…maybe there were more people like them. People she could talk with. Maybe the Haze would just go away eventually.

Yin Bei sighed, climbing out of bed. There was no point in debating it in her head. This was something she had to do.

* * *

Bei's heart hammered in her chest like a miner seeking diamonds in rock. She felt the eyes of the other four Black Hoods on her. The Great Hall's rounded stone walls seemed to amplify Bing's voice to unnatural levels.

"Yin Bei," Bing began. They stood together at the far end of the great hall, on a raised stone stage. Bei wore her Owl Shroud, and was fervently praying that she wouldn't regret it. "–daughter of Swift the Vagabond, and Kaiyun Bei, do you swear to protect the people of this realm from danger, even if that danger comes from the gods themselves?"

"I-I do!" Bei promised. She had decided that before she had even learned the Black Hoods' true purpose. If they helped her get to Yang Chao, she would do anything.

Bing nodded. "And you wish to join the Order of the Owl. Who will be your sponsor?"

"I will," Missy answered. She had informed Yin Bei that all Owls had to have a sponsor to oversee their training in the ways of the Owls. As the only Order member present, she had generously volunteered to fill that position. Bei liked Missy. She was nicer than Lang and less of a loudmouth than Faceless, albeit she was a bit of a prankster.

"Then rise," Bing continued. Bei obeyed, rising to her feet. He turned to Missy. "As her mentor, you must choose her first callsign. What do you choose?"

Missy got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I choose for her the callsign ' _Snowball'."_

Bei winced. Missy had explained before the ceremony that greenhorn Owls, called hatchlings, were often given embarrassing callsigns to keep them humble. Their earlier encounter had inspired Bei's first callsign.

Bing narrowly managed to avoid narrowing his eyes. He knew how sensitive Yin Bei was. He didn't want to hurt her feelings with a cruel nickname. At least Missy had picked a fairly tame one. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lang, stone-faced, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. _'I need to keep an eye on him around her,' he_ thought to himself. "Very well. Agent Snowball, you are hereby assigned the rank of Hatchling. Welcome to the Black Hoods, Yin Bei."

"Um…That's it?" Yin Bei said in confusion. "No ritual thingy? No big test?"

Bing smirked. "Yep. We tend not to stand on ceremony too much, and you already proved yourself when you passed the Owl's test."

"Speech!" Missy cheered with a smile. Bei saw Bing shoot the fox a stern look, which she ignored.

"Oh…" Bei looked down at her feet, thinking of what to say. She scanned the crowd, expecting the Haze to take hold. To her surprise, it didn't. Not even Lang triggered it. _'But they're all still looking at me!'_ She hastily grasped for something to say. "Um…Well…Th-thank you for this opportunity. I'm um…glad you guys are willing to help me. My father meant the world to me, and they…they took him from me. All I want is for Yang Chao to pay for what he did. Um…" She choked up a bit.

Missy and Bing both put a hand on each of her shoulders. "It's okay Bei." Bing assured softly.

Missy squeezed her shoulder. "You don't have to keep talking if you don't want to. I just wanted to prove to you that you can speak your mind if you want to. I know how overwhelming all of this can be, although I was younger than you at the time, and I figured you could use a confidence boost."

Yin Bei smiled gratefully.

"Perhaps we should get to business." Lang interrupted. It was hard to tell if he was angry or not, since he always sounded angry, but he certainly sounded disinterested.

Bing sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Now that Yin Bei is properly inducted, we need to discuss what Lang and I discovered on our excursion."

Yin Bei looked around. "Hey, where's Faceless? Shouldn't he be here?"

"He's already in the war room." Missy replied. "He hates ceremonies, so we usually have him sit them out. He said he'd wait in there."

"The war room is this way." Bing indicated a wooden door that was at the opposite end of the room as the door to the Cavern of Trials.

There was no staircase beyond the wooden door–only a square stone room with a short, round table in the center, with an agitated, impatient deer sitting at it, with one door behind him.

"Come on! Hurry up!" he complained. "I've been sitting here forever!"

"You've been here for fifteen minutes while we performed the initiation," Lang reminded with a harsh glare. "You can wait one more moment." Lang pushed past him into the other door. He returned a moment later carrying a tray bearing a plate of various fruit and a pot of tea. "None of us have eaten yet. I made some tea, as well."

He set cups around the table, filling them with the pot. The fruit plate was set in the center of the table.

"We have some interesting news to share," Bing interrupted, taking a seat on the floor at the head of the table. "And some ideas on how to move forward."

Bei sat between Missy and Faceless. She took a sip of her tea, sighing contentedly. Yin Bei loved tea. It warmed and relaxed her from the inside out, and she had to admit that Lang made a good pot. It was sweet, but with a pleasant citrus note as well.

"Well?" Missy prompted. "Tell us what you found!"

Bing nodded. "Lang and I went to check the Avian Fast Message Service. I'm guessing our mail hadn't been checked for quite some time, judging by the fact that it was full." He shot a look at Faceless.

"I didn't know where it was!" the buck objected. "The King of Bandits and the couriers were the only ones that knew! The King is gone and the couriers all ran off!"

"Nevertheless," Bing continued. "We found several important notices and requests for help from cells being hunted by the Seekers. Unfortunately, they were dated several months ago."

"Tell them the important things that we found." Lang interjected. Yin Bei decided she didn't like Lang. The old red panda didn't seem to be dangerous, but he was brash and rude.

"Anyway…" Bing continued, giving Lang an annoyed look. "We found two things that were very important. Firstly, Rooster sent us a letter."

Bei's eyes widened. "Rooster?" The eyes of everyone in the room turned to her, and she immediately clammed up. An image of Lang slamming her face into the table flashed into her mind. The red panda nodded, looking her directly in the eyes. Yin Bei revised her thought of him not being dangerous. She shut her mouth and meekly bit into an apple.

Bing shot him a glare, which he returned tenfold.

Missy fingered her chin thoughtfully. "Rooster… He was the one who you lived with when you retired, is he not?"

Bing nodded. " He is also one of the two Birds of Prey responsible for bringing down the organization. He has some very interesting news for us." He set the letter on the table.

 _"To my dear students,_

 _My visit to my old friend was not as informative as I had hoped. As I predicted, he refused to give most answers willingly. However, I did not leave without at least a few leads._

 _Firstly, I now know at least part of the nature of the artifact we received from Yang Chao. It is a powerful magical creation called a Node. It was crafted by a pair of Magisters that were killed a very long time ago. Their names were Yinyue the Lark and Huang the Nightingale. Perhaps you can find some way to use that to your advantage. More important are two leads I managed to learn of. Firstly, the Vulture Node allows one to see the memories of anyone who has been killed near it. If this is true, it may very well hold the memories of E Jile. Should you learn how it works, you may be able to learn valuable information from it. I have enclosed the Node with this letter._

 _My second lead is more obscure. I could not gain any information about how to defeat the Death Touch. However, I do know someone who may. His name is Niccolo Viccori, also known as Viccori the Crow. His past is a mystery to me, but I do know he is an alchemist, and a very powerful one at that. When I met him, he was a crow. Unfortunately, he is incredibly adept at creating artificial bodies to extend his life. I have no idea what he looks like now, much less where he is. But it is vital that you find him. He was responsible for defeating the last user of the Death Touch, so he will doubtlessly know how to do it again.  
_ _To the other Black Hoods, I suspect you are wondering how I knew where_ _to send this letter. Do not worry. It was not Bing's fault. It's very difficult to hide secrets from me. Please be kind to Yin Bei, and should Lang still be alive, tell him I said hello._

 _Your truthful ally,_

 _Master Blazing Rooster (Formerly Magister Zhengyi)_

Lang snorted. "I see Master Rooster is the same as always."

Bing held up the Vulture Node. "I don't suppose anyone here has magic experience?"

"I have some mechanical experience," Faceless admitted. "But no magical experience."

Bing nodded acceptingly. "We'll need to expand our numbers and influence. That will make examining the Node and finding Viccori a lot easier. Luckily, the second piece of mail we got could be helpful with that; Blade Dancer is retiring."

Missy's jaw dropped. "Wait, Blade Dancer, who is the deadliest Owl we have, and who has steadfastly claimed she will never retire as Captain of the Owls, is _retiring?_ "

Bing nodded, smiling. "Yep. And she called a Parliament to elect her replacement."

Missy covered her muzzle with her paws, looking absolutely shell-shocked. "Bing… I'm only a Huntress. I can't be elected Captain."

Bing shook his head, still smiling. "You won't have to. One Arm is the one who sent us the invitation. He's in the running."

"Who's One Arm?" Bei asked. "And what's a Parliament?"

"A Parliament of Owls is a big meeting of the entire Order of the Owl." Bing replied patiently. "One Arm is one of the highest ranked Owls we have. He's a very likely candidate to become Captain, providing he can gather enough support. He's also a student of mine. If I tell him about all of this, he will definitely listen, and having the Owls on our side will be a great advantage if we want to unify the Hoods."

"So where is the cipher hidden for Gongmen?" Missy queried. "And before you ask, Yin Bei, a cipher is a map placed near each Black Hood stronghold that shows where a Parliament is being held. It's heavily encoded and placed in an area that is usually extremely dangerous, so only Owls can get to and read it."

Bing sighed. "That's the thing. According to him, the cipher is hidden somewhere in the Tower of Sacred Flame."

Even Yin Bei knew that the Tower of Sacred Flame was home to several highly regarded Kung Fu Masters, and protected by a platoon of armed soldiers, with four watch towers looking over the whole place. All of that was wrapped up in a good old-fashioned humungous stone wall. There was no way they were getting in there.

Missy scratched her chin. "Hmm…" She pondered. "This might be a wonderful opportunity to give Yin Bei some field experience. I could take her with me to go retrieve it."

Yin Bei gaped at her mentor.

Bing nodded agreement. "That sounds like a great idea. She could use the experience, and it could help her get used to using the Sight."

Now Yin Bei's dropped jaw turned towards Bing. How were they so nonchalant about this?!

"I suppose that settles it then," Missy declared. "Once we finish breakfast, Yin Bei and I will go get the cipher, and all of you can go check the rumor mills for any news of Viccori the Crow."

"Do I get a say in this?" Yin Bei spoke up.

Missy smirked. "Nope. Hatchlings don't talk. You have to do what your mentor tells you."

* * *

Missy led Bei up to another hidden door. This one had a long metal ladder leading up into what would seem to be an ordinary, if oddly empty, restaurant. At least, she thought it was odd until she inhaled. The smells were so awful that it was no surprise that no one had found the trap door in the back room. It was like a dirty bandit ate lots of onions, then died in a Sulphur pit.

Yin Bei blanched at the crowds outside. Images of being trampled, stabbed, beaten, and blown up by fireworks flowed through her mind. Yin Bei started to freeze up. Missy noticed, and simply reached over and pulled the hood of the hare's Shroud up over her head. The effect was almost immediate; Yin Bei could only see what was in front of her in a straight line. If she wanted to see something, she had to look at it, yet she had the weird sensation of just _knowing_ what was in her peripheral vision without having to actually _have_ peripheral vision.

Missy smiled at her charge's look of absolute wonderment. "There is a saying among Eyes: Out of Sight, out of mind. When you're out in the field, and you find yourself in a crowd, just pull your hood up."

"Where… where did you learn all of this?" Yin Bei asked, marveling at the fact that she was now walking through a crowd with almost no issues. It was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye.

Missy smiled fondly in remembrance. "I was around twelve years old at the time. I had seen all of the things that the other Hoods did, but the smuggling and petty theft just… wasn't for me. I wanted to be something more, something that would let me put myself to the test. So I decided to join the Owls. I sought out an old, retired member, and he agreed to train me. He just so happened to be an Eye himself, so I picked some things up."

"Oh? That's interesting. Is he still alive?"

Missy shook her head, looking downcast. "Sadly, no. He passed on recently."

"Oh…" Yin Bei dropped her gaze, embarrassed at having made Missy sad. That was when something occurred to her. "Wait. Should we really be talking about this out here?"

Missy smirked. "Good catch. I was beginning to wonder if you would realize that. Slightly too late, though. You'll be punished for that later. Even if it's your first mistake, I have to make sure you don't make it again. Luckily, these people are all fairly busy, so we should have no worries."

Yin Bei panicked. It was her first mission, and she had already messed up! She was sure the punishment would be well deserved.

Missy noticed her crestfallen look and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Your punishment won't be TOO bad. It was your first mistake, and it was a relatively minor one. If you do well on our little outing, perhaps I can be persuaded to lessen it even more."

Yin Bei nodded determinedly. "Okay. What's our first step?"

Missy scanned the crowd, seemingly looking for someone. When she found them, she kept her face neutral and gently elbowed Yin Bei, pointing with her eyes further up the road.

Yin Bei followed Missy's gaze, and her eyes widened.

Masters Ox and Croc were very recognizable. Yin Bei even had some toys of them at home. (She absolutely did not play with them anymore… at least not on a regular basis.) Ox was huge and imposing with his twin axes. Croc was smaller, but the spiked ball at the end of his tail was no less deadly.

But strolling ahead of them was an even more awe-inspiring figure. Master Thundering Rhino looked regal in his white Master's robes, and his giant cloud hammer even resembled a royal scepter. Yin Bei had no doubt that he could crush her to death just by stepping on her. "They're moving slowly, but purposefully," Bei observed. "They have a destination in mind."

"I bet that they're on their way back from their daily patrol," Missy remarked. "Meaning we don't have any time to stand around gawking. Come on."

Missy led them through an alleyway between a cutlery shop and a rug store. Crates were piled up against the back wall of the alley, forming a makeshift staircase. They swiftly used them to climb up onto the roof of the cutlery store. "Welcome to the Thieves' Highway," said Missy. "We can move a lot faster and quieter if we take the rooftops. Just keep close and follow my lead. We'll hop from building to building, and make our way to the wall a lot faster. Use any good shortcuts you see."

Missy took off running across the rooftops. Missy knew the city far better than Bei did, but Bei quickly learned to see all the little shortcuts over, and sometimes through, buildings. Luckily, this was the market district. She only encountered empty attics of businesses, so she didn't have to worry about scaring some poor family. She slipped into an open attic window, hopping over a low bookcase. She leaped out the other side

Up ahead, Yin Bei spotted the telltale wall around the tower. "Hey, Missy. Want me to look for a shortcut?"

Missy shrugged, not breaking stride. "I suppose."

Yin Bei looked closely at the wall. She quickly spotted an easy way up. She dropped to all fours, building up as much speed and momentum as possible. As she reached the end of the building she was on, she gave one powerful pump of her legs to push herself into the air. She landed on the awning of a small kiosk. It acted like a trampoline, launching her into a high arc, and landing her right on top of the wall. "I did it!" Yin Bei cheered.

The next thing she was aware of was a slight hissing noise, followed quickly by a pair of thuds. She spun around, only to see an arrow falling to the ground after being knocked out of the air, and an elk soldier holding a bow, which fell from his hands as his eyes crossed, staring at the large lump on his forehead.

Two black projectiles returned to Missy's hands, collapsing and vanishing into her sleeves. She landed beside Bei and reached into her hood to grab her ears roughly. Bei's yelp as she was dragged to the ground was muffled by her mentor's paw. "What do you think you're doing?!" Missy hissed in a whisper, dragging the shocked hare to a hiding place in the unconscious archer's watchtower.

"You told me to look for a shortcut to the wall!" Bei whispered back.

"I meant one to the _bottom_ of the wall!" Missy hissed. "I thought that it would be common sense that we need to come up with a _plan_ before breaking into a fortress! You don't just leap up to the top of the wall! Do you have any idea how close you just came to dying? If I hadn't saved you, you would likely have an arrow in your throat, and be bleeding to death on the ground right now."

Yin Bei opened her mouth to argue, but her protest died in her throat. Her face burned with shame. She'd had a chance to redeem herself for failing the test in the crowd, and she had failed. Her father would be ashamed of her.

Missy gave a low growl. "I'll deal with you later. Right now, we have to get the cipher. Stick close to me, and _don't_ do anything crazy."

They slid down a ladder leading down to the base of the watchtower. "I'm going to peak outside and see where the wall patrols are. When I signal you, run as fast as you can to the door of the tower and go inside. I'll be right behind you. Understand?"

"Yes." Bei whispered.

"Good." Missy opened the door very slightly, leaning out just enough to see the walls. "Alright. On my signal. Three… two… one… Now!"

Yin Bei ran harder than she ever had in her life. It wasn't the longest sprint she had ever had to do, but the panic did make her heart race and her chest heave. She didn't bother looking to either side as she ran into the grand doors, narrowly avoiding slamming the door in Missy's face.

The room they were in was basically just a tall vertical one, with wooden stairs stretching up into the top of the tower.

"Good job," Missy praised, then ruined it by saying: "At least you can do something right."

Yin Bei hung her head. Missy saw the action, and smiled. "No use crying over spilt milk. Don't worry. Your punishment will _more_ than make up for your mistakes here today. There is a reason that hatchlings learn to never make the same mistakes twice. Trust me; we'll break you of any bad habits you have _very_ quickly."

She should have felt scared, but Yin Bei did not. She knew she had badly mucked up this mission. She would gladly pay the price to make up for her mistakes.

"Pardon me," a voice spoke up.

Both of them spun so fast that they nearly got whiplash.

The speaker was a stooped, elderly goat with a walking stick. Due to the fact that they had the little beard that all goats seemed to have, it was hard to judge her gender. But Yin Bei knew somehow that she was female. The Sight seemed to judge her as completely harmless, as no trace of the Haze affected her.

Missy started to let her weapons slide out of her sleeves, but the goat forestalled her. "It's alright. I have been expecting you."

Missy hesitated. "Are you the Soothsayer? The one who served the royal family?"

The goat smiled wanly. "Yes. I am. But that is not how I knew you were coming. A leopard with one arm, wearing an outfit similar to the ones you are wearing, arrived several weeks ago. He claimed that some of his friends would be coming for this."

Two jaws dropped as she produced a black scroll case capped with silver owl heads. It was Missy who managed to speak first. "Wait, so we could have just walked in the front gate and just _asked_ for it the whole time?"

The Soothsayer nodded. "Yes. Master Thundering Rhino and his students seemed to take a liking to the one armed warrior. That might have something to do with the cask of fine ale he brought as a gift for the three of them."

Missy slapped her forehead. "That would have been a good thing to know before. Thank you, Soothsayer." She reached out to take the cipher.

The soothsayer held it back. "If I may, I would like to make a request of you before you leave."

Missy and Yin Bei looked at each other confusedly. "I suppose…" said Missy uncertainly.

The Soothsayer turned to Yin Bei, but spoke to Missy. "If you don't mind, Jun, I would like to tell young Yin's fortune."

Yin Bei could see Missy's eyes widen beneath her hood, and she had the feeling that the Soothsayer could too. "I… I suppose. If it's alright with her too. But please, do not call me by that name again. My name is Little Miss, Missy for short. I abandoned that name a long time ago. And her codename is Snowball."

The Soothsayer inclined her head. "I understand. I am sorry. I meant no offense."

Missy nodded, but said nothing more.

The Soothsayer looked at Bei, who shuffled her feet shyly. "You can take your hood off, my dear." She assured soothingly.

Yin Bei looked at Missy, who simply shrugged.

Yin Bei nervously took off the hood. Her ears were happy to be free of their prison, and she stretched them out to their full length to let blood flow back into them.

The Soothsayer smiled. "Your ears are nimble, even for a hare. I can tell you've been training their strength."

Yin Bei blushed a little bit. She had never been complimented on her ears before.

The Soothsayer reached out a hoof to take Yin Bei's paw. "This may sting a little. I need a few strands of your fur."

Yin Bei winced as the fur was plucked from her arm. The Soothsayer was gentle, but it still stung. "Ah, Little Miss, if you do not mind, would you please go and retrieve my bowl upstairs? I seem to have forgotten it."

Missy nodded and walked off, making her way up the many flights of stairs, eventually disappearing from view.

Yin Bei stood in awkward silence for a few minutes. The Soothsayer didn't try to initiate conversation. She just stared up at the seemingly endless staircase. "Um… ma'am, your neck is going to hurt later on if you look up like that for too long."

The Soothsayer turned her gaze to Yin Bei, an amused twinkle in her eyes. "Thank you for the advice, young one. You are a good girl, Yin."

Like most compliments, it made Yin Bei blush. "Thank you ma'am. I always try to be polite. By the way, I prefer being called Bei, not Yin."

The Soothsayer quirked her head. "You prefer being called by your last name?"

Yin Bei nodded bashfully, not meeting the Soothsayer's eyes. "Um… Yes. But you should probably call me by my codename. I don't want to get in any more trouble." She offered no further explanation, and was glad when the Soothsayer didn't press her.

Missy slid down the railing, holding the shallow incense bowl in her paws. "Is this it?" she asked.

The Soothsayer nodded, chuckling. "Impressive entrance. Would you like me to tell your fortune as well?"

Missy shook her head so hard that Bei was surprised her brains didn't fly out of her ears. "No thank you! I… I would rather not know my future."

The Soothsayer shrugged. "As you wish. Let us begin."

Yin Bei watched anxiously as the Soothsayer dropped the strand of fur into the bowl. Almost instantly there was a small explosion, and a plume of smoke rose into the air above the bowl. "I see…" The Soothsayer stared into the smoke as it twisted and reformed. The picture within was of three rows of cowled figures. Most of their eyes were shadowed by their cowls, but several of them had eyes of white light. "A gathering of shadows, but lights dance among them."

Missy's eyes widened. Her mouth opened, but she seemed unable to speak. "No…" she finally managed to whisper. "No. It can't be…"

Yin Bei looked back at Missy, who seemed to be in a trance. The haunted look in her eyes made it clear that she had seen something she didn't like. Had Bei done something else to mess things up?

The smoke dissipated into thin air. "No! There has to be more!" Missy cried.

The Soothsayer shook her head. "There is no more, I'm afraid. The paths of fate are not so easy to discern."

Missy pinched the bridge of her muzzle, seemingly trying to avoid panicking. "No no no this can't be happening…"

"What's wrong?" Yin Bei asked. "Isn't that a good thing? Light among the shadows?"

Missy shook her head. "The shadows clearly refer to the Black Hoods, and the Gathering has to be the Parliament. If the lights are referring to what I think they are…" She shuddered. "I hope they aren't. I think we should go, Soothsayer. Thank you for your services."

The Soothsayer nodded. "Farewell, my dears." She paused for a moment. "I do not believe that it relates to the prediction of the shadows, but I sense that there will be a different matter that will require your attention today. You should take care of it before you return home. It could become a problem otherwise."

Missy nodded absently. "Thank you, Soothsayer. We'll keep that in mind. Hood up, Yin Bei. It's time to go. Stick close to me. Since the alarm hasn't gone off, the soldiers probably don't know that one of their number is unconscious yet."

They pulled their hoods up and slipped quietly, out the door…

…only to come upon Masters Ox, Croc, and Rhino.

They must have decided on a spar upon returning to the Tower, because Ox and Croc were facing off in the courtyard, while Thundering Rhino watched with his back to the pair of Owls. Missy put a finger to her lips. "Don't interrupt," she whispered. "We'll wait until they're finished.

Yin Bei watched as Ox easily predicted almost all of Croc's moves. They clearly knew each other well. Bei recalled that Ox was supposed to be a master of perception as well. _'I wonder if he has the Sight…'_

The answer was a definite 'no'. Ox may have been more perceptive than average, but Bei's own Sight told her that Ox was taking far more hits than a true Eye normally would. Bei didn't know how she knew that. She just did.

There was something else off about the way Ox was fighting. Yin Bei first realized it when he clumsily blocked a punch with one of his horns. His movements were not as fluid as those a master of Kung Fu would normally perform. "He's using a new fighting style…" Yin Bei murmured.

As Ox went on the offensive, striking with his horns at the reptile's legs, Yin Bei realized that something about his movements was strikingly familiar. "Where have I seen that style before…?"

Rhino must have heard her, because he turned slightly. "Ah. I see we have guests."

At Rhino's voice, Ox and Croc stopped sparring and turned around. "Hey, I recognize those outfits!" Ox exclaimed. "You guys must be with One Arm!"

"We are." Missy replied. "We didn't want to interrupt your spar, so we were going to wait to leave until you were finished."

"I see you retrieved the message he left for you," Rhino commented.

Missy nodded. "Yes. I wish we had known that we would be welcome here, but One Arm neglected to tell us. I knocked a soldier unconscious on the way in."

Rhino winced. "Croc, go make sure that soldier is alright. I apologize for that, miss…?

"Just Little Miss will do. Missy for short. My apprentice here is Snowball."

Ox snerked at Bei's callsign. He tried to pretend it was a sneeze.

"Ah," Rhino continued. "Well, we attempted to lower the guard presence for when you arrived, in case a misunderstanding like that happened. But at the same time, we couldn't just instruct them to let anyone in."

Bei looked at Ox while Missy and Rhino talked. "Um…Hello."

Ox smirked. "Hi, uh…Snowball."

The Haze started to creep in. Oddly enough, it wasn't that bad. Many of the Nightmare Scenarios had Missy protecting her. Bei took a moment to find her voice. "I…um…I-I noticed you were using a different technique than usual."

Ox chuckled. "A fan, huh? Yeah. The archives here have scrolls for techniques from all over China. I found an interesting one for a technique called Ten Limb."

Yin Bei's blood froze.

"It was meant for use by a hare, what with the flexible ears they have. But since there are so few Masters of it left, I figured I would try to adapt it for horns. I think I did fairly well," He added with a smug look.

Bei's cold blood started to boil.

Missy had overheard the conversation. "Now Snowball, be calm."

Bei exploded.

"Are you KIDDING ME!? You BUTCHERED IT!"

Ox was taken aback. "Hey! What would a runt like you know about Kung Fu any-"

Yin Bei removed her hood. He went silent. "Oh."

Yin Bei stormed up to him until they could have been nose-to-nose if she were taller. As it was, she prodded his nose with one of her ears. "My _father_ created Ten Limb! You are butchering my father's LEGACY!"

Ox was offended. "I just started creating my version of it! It may be rough now, but when I'm done, I bet it will be even better than the original!"

"Uh oh…" Missy muttered. "Explosion in 3, 2…"

The explosion was very quiet. "Master Rhino, may I borrow your courtyard for a moment? I would like to spar with Master Ox." She turned to Missy. "I know I'll probably get punished for this, but I'll only be a moment."

"No, go ahead. I'd like to see how you handle this. Would you mind if they sparred, Master Rhino?" Rhino nodded sagely. "I see no harm in it. If she has the skill to face my student, then this should be interesting to watch. Put your axes away, Ox."

"No." Yin Bei interrupted. "He can keep them."

Ox laughed. "Kid, you don't know what you're getting into. Take your beating like a good little bunny and leave the deadly weapons out of this."

Bei's ears shot up straight. The right one gave a very visible twitch. The fire in her eyes was practically visible. There was nary a trace of evidence that she even realized that she was surrounded by strangers. "Keep them," she spat coldly. "They won't help you."

Missy hid a smile. It looked like Yin Bei had found the big loophole in the Sight's weakness.

Yin Bei's insides felt like they were on fire from the fury she felt. In that moment, she discovered something about the Haze; with anger, it _burned._ The fire inside Yin Bei made her feel more alive and awake than she ever had before. The Haze was no longer images of her being murdered. Indeed, there were no images at all. The Flame had burned away the Haze entirely, and her mind was absolutely clear. It wasn't that she didn't notice any of the things that usually made her mind uncertain. Those things simply didn't bother her.

The two fighters stood in the center of the courtyard. Rhino stood on the raised platform, presiding over the fight, while Missy sat with her legs dangling over the edge. Croc stood near a gong off to one side, holding a mallet, and looking somewhat nervous.

Croc hit the gong, and the fight began.

Ox charged. He swung one of his axes in a massive overhead slash.

Bei slid to one side. The movement was fractional, but it was just enough that the axe missed her by a hair's breadth. Bei fell back onto her hands and planted one foot into his face.

Ox blocked with his horns. Hooking her foot in one of them, he head-butted her hard enough to knock her away.

Up on the platform, Missy felt a sudden presence behind her. "How is she doing?" a familiar voice asked.

She didn't turn around. "Hello, Lang."

The old warrior watched the fight intently. He didn't speak a word. He just took a seat beside Missy and watched.

Meanwhile, Yin Bei rolled to soften her landing. She came up just in time to see Ox charging her horns-first. With a twisting leap, she landed atop his shoulders with her legs around his neck.

"She's fast." Rhino commented. "She could simply choke Ox unconscious from that position."

Lang shook his head. "She won't." He knew the look on her face. Brow furrowed, mouth set in a fierce line, and hatred burning in her eyes. She wanted Ox to suffer.

Rhino did a double take. Had there been three of them before?

Indeed, Bei didn't choke Ox. She wrapped her ears around his neck and went into a backbend, using her leverage to plant her front paws on the ground. She used her powerful legs to help flip him over her head. Ox landed right on his horns, lodging them in the ground.

Bei focused on Ox. _'He isn't done yet. He was careless before. Now he's wary of me. He'll be more careful…if I let him get back up.'_

Lang observed her keenly. _'Hmm… She has fire in her, and a lot more of it than I thought at first.'_ He felt a pang as he realized that he had long ago thought the same thing of her father.

Missy watched the red panda closely. His face did not betray any of his thoughts.

Ox struggled to pull his horns out of the stone floor. They finally came free. He started to get back up. That's when Yin Bei hit him with a double-footed kick to the chest.

Ox landed halfway across the courtyard, the wind knocked out of him. Yin Bei gave him no respite, hitting him again and knocking him back again.

"She's good." Rhino commented.

Lang shrugged, unimpressed. "She's sloppy. Ox will figure out what she's doing if she keeps knocking him over like that."

Sure enough, on the third flying kick, Ox rolled out of the way. Yin Bei flew past him. She didn't have time to tuck into a roll, and hit the ground hard. She skidded for several feet before she came to a stop. A flower of pain bloomed in her leg. Yin Bei cringed, but didn't cry out. She pushed herself to her feet.

Ox examined her closely. His keen sense of sight was searching for any possible weakness. _'I'll show her the power of a real Master.'_ His eyes zeroed in on her long ears. _'Her ears are the center of her style. If I trap them, she'll be crippled. Heh heh. Gotcha.'_

Ox charged. He threw one of his axes at the injured hare, who desperately rolled aside, right into Ox's charge. Ox hit her in the chest with his horns, just hard enough to fling her into the air. He used her disorientation to grab hold of her ears.

Yin Bei yelped at the pain of her ears being grabbed. Her world went topsy-turvy. Her stomach lurched as Ox flipped her over his head. Then everything came to a sudden–and very painful–stop, as she struck the cold, hard stone floor. Black spots danced in her vision, and her hearing rang.

Rhino winced. "It appears we have a winner." He raised his hammer, ready to strike the handle to the ground and declare Ox the winner.

Something blocked it. He looked down to see the scarred red panda with a single paw beneath the handle of the hammer. "Not yet." Lang said with a stern look. He pointed at Yin Bei.

Missy remained quiet.

Unbelievably, the hare had risen to her feet. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing labored. But it wasn't from pain. It was…anger?

Yin Bei's eyes opened, sunlight glinting off of her blue-green irises. Her mind was clearer than it had ever been. It was at that moment that she came to a vital realization; the images that flashed through her mind weren't all part of the Haze. Every time she went out in public, she saw everything that _might_ happen. That was the Haze. But the Fire had burned that uncertainty away. Now she saw what was _going_ to happen. This was not the Haze. This was the Sight.

 _Ignore remark. Challenge. Anticipate feint. Block right hook._

 _Ignore remark._

"Kid…" Ox shook his head pityingly. "Stay down. You're just embarrassing yourself."

 _Challenge._

Yin Bei fell into stance. She twitched an ear in a universal gesture: _"Bring it."_

Ox sighed heavily. _'If she won't quit, I'll have to put her down.'_

She would be anticipating him to put down his axes and walk away. He let his axes drop…

 _Anticipate feint. Block right hook._

Ox found his lightning-fast punch come to a sudden stop. "What the–?"

 _Pull off balance. Use his momentum against him._

Yin Bei had blocked the punch with her left ear. That same ear now wrapped around the bovine's wrist and yanked him hard to one side. Bei hit him with a left roundhouse kick to the ribs, then a hook to the jaw from her right ear.

 _Leg sweep and launch._

Bei swept her right leg under Ox's knees, causing them to fall from under him. She caught him with her ears, then tossed him up to her feet. With a powerful thrust, he was launched into the air.

 _And then the big finish._

Yin Bei leapt into the air. Ox was pinwheeling as he reached the climax of his flight and started to fall. He was met by the terrifying sight of two large feet. _"_ _ **Feet of Fury!**_ _"_

Bei fired a thunderstorm of kicks all over Ox's body. Sickening thuds and crunches sounded as her massive feet slammed into his torso, head, arms, and legs. Finally, she sank to one side. She landed a hard roundhouse to the bovine's back, sending him crashing to the ground. The fight ended with a resounding _THUD!_

Ox lay face down on the cold stone. The ground beneath him was spiderwebbed with cracks from the force of the impact. He was barely clinging to consciousness. Every part of his body was covered in foot-shaped bruises, and he had at least two broken ribs. His right arm was bent at a disturbing angle.

Yin Bei landed lightly next to him. She grabbed one of his horns and forced him to look her in the eye. The bovine flinched. She didn't bother speaking. She just dropped his head. She glanced over at Missy and Lang, jerked her head, and walked away. Missy and Lang shared an indecipherable look. Lang just shrugged, and walked after her. Missy followed without a word.

Rhino and Croc's jaws gaped. They looked at each other, then at Ox, then at each other, than back at Ox. Only Croc managed to voice what they were both thinking: "What. Just. HAPPENED!?"

* * *

After Missy made her report to Bing, the rat went with Faceless to decode the Cipher. Yin Bei's punishment was swift.

Yin Bei dutifully scrubbed the smooth marble tiles of the Great Hall with a damp, soapy rag. Beside her, Missy did the same. "Um…remind me why you're doing this with me?"

The white fox squeezed water from her cloth into a wooden bucket. "I am your mentor, therefore I am as responsible for your mistakes as you are."

Yin Bei's ears drooped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble too."

Missy gave her a small smile. "It's sweet of you to apologize, but there is no need. Just learn from your mistakes, and never make the same one twice."

Yin Bei nodded. "I… have a question."

Missy tilted her head curiously. "Oh?"

Bei hesitated. "What…happened earlier? It felt like my blood was on fire."

Missy gave an 'Oh' of understanding. "Yes. There are a few ways to get past the Curse that comes with each Lonesome Gift. For the Sight, the best way is to achieve Inner Peace, reaching a state which we call Silence. It allows you to quiet your visions and allow your mind to function normally. But there are others. Intense rage is usually the first one initiates discover, but anything that consumes all of your focus and attention can accomplish it. You became so enraged that it crowded out all other thought."

Bei wasn't really sure how to react to that. It was certainly good to know. "So what will the Parliament of Owls be like?"

Now Missy frowned. "I…honestly don't know. I haven't spoken to any other Owls in a very long time. I have many friends I would like you to meet among them. I just hope they're still alive."

Yin Bei gave her a hug, wrapping her ears and arms around the older woman. "I'm sure they'll be okay."

Missy smiled and rubbed her cheek against Bei's. "You're such a sweetie. I can't wait to see you in the Newbie Tournament."

Bei quirked her head, one ear folding halfway down. "Newbie Tournament?"

Missy winked. "You'll see. Now, come on. Let's get this floor finished. Then I'll show you how to pick a lock."

Lang watched them from the shadows. _'Hm. She is so much like her father. A little quieter, but the anger, the vengefulness, the recklessness…it's all there.'_ He shook his head with a small chuckle. He remembered how often he wished Swift would stop running his mouth. Now Yin Bei had shown up.

Lang sighed through his nose. His expression returned to stone, and he leaned against a pillar as he continued to watch in silence.

 _ **Oh. My. GOD! After months of working on this fucking monster chapter I am finished at last! I stopped just shy of the 10,000 word mark! And to think that, after all this work, it's been so long since I've updated this that I probably have no readers left.**_

 _ **For those of you who remain, I have a special announcement: I am going to be slowly editing all of the previous chapters of Silence of the Hare. There will be updated character descriptions, action sequences, and more. I figure this will give you a reason to go back and reread the story to remember what is going on. Chapters one and two should be ready along with this chapter.**_

 _ **It's after midnight as I type this, and I am going to bed. Gnite Y'all!**_

 _ **Until we meet again…**_

 _ **Mind Jack, OUT!**_


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